February 4, 2010
ERBIL-Hewlêr,
Kurdistan region 'Iraq', — A survey conducted by the
Kurdistan Institution for Political Issues (KIPI),
released on 13th January, showed that the cost of
housing in the region is people’s number one cause
for concern.
The survey was carried out in the three provinces of
the Kurdistan region, Erbil, Sulaimaniyah and Duhok.
24 percent said housing is their main problem, with
similar but smaller numbers focusing on the
inflating cost of goods and services, poor
electricity supplies and unemployment.
Compared to the average salaries of residents in
Kurdistan, housing is heavily overpriced. There is a
lack of small,www.ekurd.netaffordable
residential units for young people. There is a need
for planned developments of different sizes and
price ranges that are accessible for people with
different income levels. |
Cost of housing is 'number one problem' in Kurdistan |
|
Jamal Muhammad, 27,
is a primary school teacher, who rents a house with
his wife.
"If the government does not find a solution,” he
complains, “I will never be able to have my own
house or apartment."
Muhammad and his wife, also a primary school
teacher, each earn 400,000 Dinars (about US$320) per
month.
"We pay 300,000 Dinars monthly to rent the house and
we spend 400,000 Dinars every month on food and
other daily necessities. So we can only save 100,000
Dinars a month. According to our calculations, that
means we will never be able to have our own house.”
During the last Kurdistan Region parliamentary and
presidential elections campaign, the housing problem
was one of the main subjects candidates debated. The
housing crisis is prompting many young people not to
get married and the stresses and strains are also
pushing more married couples to divorce.
The Directorate of Nationality and Civil Status in
Sulaimaniyah city said that many issues that young
couples face are pushing the divorce rate up. High
house prices, a lack of jobs and even the cost of
marriage ceremonies are turning people off marriage.
"The marriages registered at the directorate in 2009
were 13,535, while divorces were 1,027 cases, which
is a lot," stated the directorate.
It added that the number of marriages is dropping in
the Kurdistan Region.
Ibrahim Khalid, runs a real-estate business in Erbil
city. He said there are two reasons for a constant
increase in land and house price. Firstly, there is
a high demand in the region for land and housing,
both from individuals and businesses.
The other reason for increased house prices, Khalid
believes, is the changing price of the region’s oil.
"Whenever there is news that the Iraqi government
will send more oil to international markets, the
prices automatically increase in Kurdistan," says
Khalid, adding, "The real estate business is one of
the best businesses here."
In Erbil, the price of a regular house in a normal,
middle-class areas is about US$70,000. Compared to
other countries in the Middle East such as Lebanon
and Jordan, the prices of houses and land in
Kurdistan are much cheaper but within Iraq it is
high.
In this years' draft budget law, however, the
Kurdistan Regional Government has allocated 300
million dollars to finance housing projects aimed at
helping low-income residents who don't have land or
houses.
Those involved in the plan believe it is crucial to
solving the housing problem.
"The price of these houses and apartments will be no
more than 48 million Dinars (US$ 40,000). For
houses, the government promises to pay 10% of the
cost and for apartments,www.ekurd.netthey
promise 15% of the cost. Low-income residents will
pay the rest of the money over ten years," explained
Nawroz Mawlood, the manager of the Kurdistan
Investment Board. “In the countryside,” she
continued, “The government will pay 20 percent of
the cost.”
Private companies will build the houses and
apartments according to agreements with the
government, much to the delight of Muhammad, the
schoolteacher, who is very happy about the
government’s plan.
"I think it will be my only chance to own my own
house," he said.
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
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