Source: The Jerusalem Post —
Real estate sales in Baghdad, are booming, especially in high-end areas, with prices in the Iraqi capital, exceeding those in several Arab and European capitals.
Experts attribute this phenomenon to money laundering operations and efforts by corrupt officials to keep their wealth in assets instead of banks.
One square meter (about 11 square feet) of land in the Yarmouk area, in western Baghdad, can sell for up to $11,000. Officials’ bids on especially desirable plots have reached $16,000 per square meter.
In other areas, such as the Jadriya neighborhood near the Green Zone, and the Mansour district in western Baghdad, where many embassies are located, the price per square meter exceeds $3,000, while in Zayouna in the city’s east prices have reached $7,000.
The prices have made it very difficult for families to buy homes. As a result, many real estate developers have reduced the size of housing units to 100 square meters to make them more affordable. About 70% of the 41 million Iraqis live in urban areas.
Corruption in the housing market
“It is not possible to limit purchase and sale contracts. Therefore, corrupt officials resort to saving their money in real estate.”
Source from the Iraqi prime ministers office
An informed source in the Prime Minister’s Office, who is close to the incumbent, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, told The Media Line: “There is a really big rise in the Iraqi real estate market, especially in the capital, Baghdad, the largest part of which is due to the storing and laundering of money by corrupt officials.”
The government of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has clamped down on corrupt officials and has prevented the transfer of funds in large quantities abroad, according to the source. “Many bank accounts containing large amounts of cash were seized,” the source said, adding that, because the Iraqi economy is cash-based, “it is not possible to limit purchase and sale contracts. Therefore, corrupt officials resort to saving their money in real estate.”
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