Report: Rentals in Tehran rise 28.4 percent

Azerbaijan, Baku, Jul.14/ Trend F.Karimov/

Rentals in Iran's capital city Tehran rose by 28.4 percent in winter compared to the same season last year, the Mehr News Agency reported, citing the Statistical Center of Iran.

Real states rented houses for 163,777 rials per square meters area of land on the average, which was 28.4 percent more than the price in the same season in the previous year.

The value of one square meter of land for residential building increased by 157 percent in Tehran.

Residential land and rundown buildings were sold at 56 million rials per square meter on the average in Tehran.

Built-up land was also sold at 39 million rials per square meter, up 19 percent compared to the year before.

Since autumn 2011, real estate prices in Iran's major cities, and especially in Tehran, have skyrocketed, turning developers into overnight millionaires.

Part of the increase is due to a rise in the price of housing materials and land, which was triggered by the cut in fuel subsidies and the sharp drop in the exchange rate for the rial in relation to foreign currency.

Some economists say that the huge level of liquidity, which has reached 346 billion dollars during the two terms of the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is the main reason for the rise in housing prices. However, it seems that the psychological atmosphere created by developers and real estate agents is also at least partly to blame for the current state of affairs.