Stagnation in Tehran Housing Market; 112% Price Increase Over One Year

A new report from Iran’s Central Bank indicates that in Ordibehesht of this year, the number of apartment transactions in Tehran reached 12,100 residential units, which represents a 36.5% decrease compared to the same month last year.

The decline in housing transactions comes as the average price of buying and selling one square meter of residential unit space traded through real estate agencies in Tehran was approximately 127 million rials, which shows a 12.5% increase compared to Farvardin and a 112% increase compared to Ordibehesht last year.

Iran’s national currency has lost 70% of its value since the beginning of last year to date, and according to official statistics, point-to-point inflation (Ordibehesht 1398 compared to the same month last year) has peaked above 52%.

However, housing statistics show that price growth in this sector has been much higher than in other sectors.

The Central Bank’s reference to a 112% price increase comes as a report from the Statistical Center shows that housing price growth in Ordibehesht compared to the same month last year was only 24.9%.

This government institution has also assessed housing rental growth at similar levels, which is consistent with Central Bank statistics.

The Central Bank assessed the growth of house rents in Ordibehesht of this year at 22.6% higher than the same month last year.

Iran’s official statistics are always met with skepticism by experts.

The Central Bank states that the highest housing price growth during this period was in Tehran’s District 9 (134%) and the lowest growth was in District 19 (approximately 85%).

Among the 22 districts of Tehran Municipality, the highest price per square meter of residential space traded was approximately 260 million rials in District 1, and the lowest was approximately 59 million rials in District 18. These figures show increases of approximately 107% and 118% respectively compared to the same month in the previous year.

The number of residential apartment transactions in Tehran during the first two months of 1398 reached approximately 15,600 units, which shows a 35.6% decrease compared to the same period the previous year.

As a result, the bulk of housing transactions over the past two months occurred in Ordibehesht.

Source: Radio Farda