Tehran Housing Inflation Surpasses 84 Percent: SCI

SCI had put the average annual inflation rate for the preceding Iranian month, which ended on April 20, at 81.5%. 

The housing inflation for the month under review (April 21-May 21) registered a year-on-year increase of 71.8% compared with the similar month of last year. The year-on-year inflation of the month ending April 20 was 82.6%. 

The housing CPI (using the Iranian month to April 19, 2016, as the base) stood at 711.6 for the month ending May 21, indicating a 3% increase compared with the previous month.

During the month ending April 20, the housing CPI stood at 690.7, registering a 0.1% rise compared with the previous month.

Overall Inflation at 41%

The overall average goods and services Consumer Price Index in the 12-month period ending May 21 increased by 41% compared with the corresponding period of the year before, according to SCI. 

The center had put the average annual inflation rate for the preceding Iranian month, which ended on April 20, at 38.9%. 

The consumer inflation for the month under review (April 21-May 21) registered an increase of 46.9% compared with the similar month of the previous Iranian year. The year-on-year inflation of the month ending April 20 was 49.5%. 

The overall CPI (using the Iranian year to March 2017 as the base year) stood at 308.4, indicating a 0.7% rise compared with the month before. Month-on-month consumer inflation was 2.7% for the preceding month.

SCI put urban and rural 12-month inflation for the month under review at 40.5% and 43.2%, respectively. 

CPI registered a year-on-year increase of 46.1% for urban areas and 51% for rural areas in the month ending May 21. 

The overall CPI reached 304.9 for urban households and 327.8 for rural households, indicating a month-on-month increase of 0.7% for both.

The highest monthly growth in the index among 12 groups of the basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households in the Iranian month ending May 21 was recorded for “tobacco” with 3.1% while “communications” posted a deflation of 1.5%. 

The highest year-on-year inflation in the month under review was posted for “furniture, home appliances and their maintenance” with 67.6% while the lowest YOY inflation was registered for “communications” with 13.8%. 

The highest and lowest annual inflation were registered for “transportation” with 65.1% and “communications” with 18.3%. 

CBI Data

Data published by the Central Bank of Iran show the average price of each square meter of a residential property in Tehran stood at 287.96 million rials ($1,151) in the second month of the current fiscal year (April 21-May 21). 

The rate indicates a surge of 69.7% over last year’s same month when average prices reached 169.72 million rials ($678).

However, home prices in the capital city dropped by 1.8% compared to 293.22 million rials ($1,172) in the first month of the current year. 

A total of 3,938 homes were sold in the capital during the month under review, registering an 88.1% increase compared with the preceding month but a 65.2% decrease compared with the same month of last year.

The CBI data also show that during the month ending May 21, newly-built residential properties up to five years old constituted the highest proportion of deals at 35.7% (or 1,405 deals), down by 3.1 percentage points compared with the same month of last year. 

That lost share was added to homes with a lifespan of six to 10 years, 11 to 15 years, and above 20 years. Homes with a lifespan of six to 10 years, 11 to 15 years and above 20 accounted for 20.8%, 13.5% and 13% of total deals compared with the same month of last year’s 18.3%, 12.5% and 12.6%, respectively. 

The share of homes that were between 16 and 20 years old was 17% of the total home deals during the month ending May 21, compared with 17.8% of the same month of last year.

The distribution of dealt properties shows that among Tehran’s 22 districts, District 5 grabbed the highest share of total deals at 15.3%. It was followed by districts 10 and four with a share of 9.3% and 8.3%, respectively. 

All-in-all, 10 districts (five, 10, four, two, seven, 14, one, 15, eight, and three) grabbed the lion's share of the deals at 71.5% with the remaining 12 districts holding a 28.5% share.

Among Tehran's 22 districts, District 1 registered the highest average home price of 602.1 million rials ($2,408) per square meter. District 18 offered the capital city's cheapest homes with an average per-square meter price of 119.7 million rials ($478). The aforesaid figures show a respective increase of 77.6% and 52.6% YOY.

Residential units with an average price range of 150 million rials ($600) to 200 million rials ($800) per square meter were the most popular in Tehran during the Iranian month under review, as they both grabbed a 17.2% share of all deals. They were followed by units priced at 200 million rials to 250 million rials ($1,000) per square meter with a share of 14.9% and homes priced at 100 million rials ($400) to 150 million rials per square meter had a share of 12.3%.  

From the total number of deals, 58.8% belonged to homes cheaper than the average per-square meter price of the city (i.e., 288 million rials or $1,152). 

Residential units with a floor area of 50-60 square meters registered the highest number of sales with a 15.2% share of total deals.  

Units with an area of 60-70 square meters came second with a share of 14.8%. All-in-all, residential properties with an area of less than 80 square meters had a 56.1% share of total deals. 

CBI data further show that Tehran’s homes worth between 5 billion rials ($20,000) and 10 billion rials ($40,000) were the most popular with a 21.4% share of total deals. These were followed by homes with a price tag of between 10 billion rials and 15 billion rials ($60,000) and those priced at between 15 billion rials and 20 billion rials ($80,000) with a respective share of 16.9% and 12% of the total deals. 

Collectively, homes valued under 20 billion rials had a 53.5% share of total home deals in Tehran during the second month of the current year.