The first month of the Iranian year coincides with a nearly two-week-long New Year holidays (started March 20) and markets are known to stagnate during this period, especially in the housing sector as buying and selling drops drastically. This year, the condition was exacerbated by the spread of the new coronavirus, which further plunged the market into recession.
The average price of each square meter of a residential unit in the capital city stood at 170.06 million rials ($983) during the month under review, registering a year-on-year increase of 33.8% and 9.4% month-on-month.
Among Tehran’s 22 districts, District 1 registered the highest average home prices at 341.99 million rials ($1,976) per square meter, followed by District 3 with 301.76 million rials ($1,744) per square meter and District 2 with 259.57 million rials ($1,500) per square meter.
District 18 offered the capital city’s cheapest homes with average per-square meter prices standing at 77.43 million rials ($447), followed by District 20 with 83.3 million rials ($481) per square meter and District 17 with 86.8 million rials ($501) per square meter.
The distribution of the dealt properties shows that among Tehran's 22 districts, District 5 grabbed the highest number of home sales (1,608) with the average price of 211.15 million rials ($1,220) per square meter. It was followed by District 2 with a total of 974 home deals.
Districts 19, 21 and 22 registered the fewest number of deals during the month under review with 64, 124 and 126, respectively.
Over the two months to May 20, a total of 12,869 home sales were registered in the capital city, indicating an 18.6% decline compared with the similar period of last year. The average price of a square meter of residential property reached 162.76 million rials ($940), which show an increase of 34.9% over the corresponding period of last year.
A total of 2,482 construction permits were issued during the two-month period, registering an 11.5% decrease year-on-year.
Prices in 5 Tehran Districts Triple in 2 Years
Over the past two years, five out of 22 districts of the capital city, Tehran, saw housing prices nearly triple.
According to a report by ISNA, home prices in District 18 increased by 227%, District 10 by 214%, District 9 by 203%, District 17 by 199% and District 20 by 197% in the past couple of years.
The lowest price growth from Feb. 20, 2018-20 were registered for homes located in District 2 with 160%, District 1 with 167%, District 5 and 12 with 171% and District 6 with 172%.
From Feb. 20, 2019 to Feb. 20, 2020, Districts 20, 18, 12, 17 and 19 posted the sharpest price rises with 101%, 70%, 54%, 51% and 49% while Districts 1, 2, 13, 14 and 22 had the slowest increases in home prices with 37%, 38%, 39%, 40% and 40%.
The average price of each square meter of a residential unit in Tehran stood at 139.4 million rials ($829.76) in the month ending Jan. 20, 146.7 million rials ($873.21) in the month ending Feb. 19 and 159.3 million rials ($948.21) in the month leading to March 19, according to the Central Bank of Iran's data.
The annual home price increase was 49% in the month ending Jan. 20, 52% in the month ending Feb. 19 and 48% in the month ending March 19.
The two-year index shows home prices in the month ending Jan. 20 increased by 168% compared with the month ending Jan. 20, 2018; they grew by 173% in the month ending Feb. 19 compared with the month ending Feb. 19, 2018, and jumped by 180% in the month ending March 19 compared with the month ending March 20, 2018.