Enab Baladi – Ras al-Ain
After stagnation for nearly four years, the city of Ras al-Ain in northwestern al-Hasakah is experiencing a surge in real estate buying and selling activities, driven by the interest of some Syrians from the region and those residing in Turkey to purchase homes there.
According to real estate office owners and buyers interviewed by Enab Baladi in Ras al-Ain, this trend is due to increasing fears of escalating deportation operations in Turkey, and a desire by some to have a home to settle in the city.
This influx has raised home prices, and according to Enab Baladi‘s monitoring, the price per square meter increased from $45 to $70 USD from mid-2023 to the current September.
Prices start from $15,000 USD for two-bedroom houses with amenities, $25,000 USD for three-bedroom houses with amenities, and houses built on solid foundations capable of supporting two or more floors have reached prices of $50,000 USD.
Motivations for returning and settling in the region
Malik al-Qarit arrived with his family to Ras al-Ain in mid-2023 from the Turkish city of Adana, after owning a car sales and purchase office.
He told Enab Baladi that he immediately began searching for a house to buy to ensure his family’s stability in his city and to continue his business, deciding not to return to Turkey and to focus on building a new life for his family.
Ali al-Jasim, from Ras al-Ain, received a request from his son residing in Istanbul to buy a house in the city, fearing deportation from Turkey and wishing to settle in the region.
He told Enab Baladi that he found a house in the south station area that meets his son’s requirements at an “acceptable” price, as the situation in Turkey is no longer the same, and income there has become limited, adding that he bought the house to be ready in case his son comes to Ras al-Ain.
Meanwhile, young man Somer al-Ammar plans to return to Ras al-Ain by the end of 2024, considering that life there has become less suitable for staying than it was in the past.
Al-Ammar told Enab Baladi that he bought a house in Ras al-Ain as a preparatory step for his return, as he sees that the situation in the city may not be perfect but remains better than the current conditions Syrian people experience in Turkey.
He believes that returning to Ras al-Ain gives him the opportunity to have a stable place in a familiar location, after leaving it in 2014 and settling in the Turkish city of Ceylanpınar following the start of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) implementing compulsory conscription in the city when they controlled it.
Prices rising in line with demand
The market selling activity has raised real estate prices, making home buying more difficult for local residents due to low income and lack of stable income sources. Daily laborers in Ras al-Ain earn between 80,000 and 100,000 Syrian pounds (one dollar equals 15,000 Syrian pounds).
Khalid al-Adwani, a real estate office owner in Ras al-Ain, told Enab Baladi that the selling movement was almost non-existent until mid-2023, but the situation has gradually improved since then.
He explained that one of the main reasons for the price increase is the growing demand from Syrians residing in Turkey, and noted that many buyers do not have direct knowledge of previous prices, where the price per square meter was sold for about $45 USD.
He added that homeowners have significantly raised prices, taking advantage of the lack of knowledge about previous prices.
He pointed out that his office currently organizes more than ten home sale contracts monthly officially, a significant increase compared to previous periods where sales did not exceed one home per month.
The population in Ras al-Ain is about 115,000 people, with 6,500 of them displaced, according to statistics obtained by Enab Baladi from the Social Services Center. The city is also witnessing the arrival of hundreds returning from Turkey, whether voluntarily or forcibly deported.
According to statistics obtained by Enab Baladi from the Ras al-Ain real estate registry office, the number of houses in the city is 11,130.
Agriculture, alongside livestock breeding, is one of the main occupations for the majority of residents in the Ras al-Ain area and the northern and northeastern regions of Syria, constituting a primary source of income in these areas.
Ras al-Ain is located along the Turkish border, controlled by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), while it is surrounded by frontlines with the SDF, and the Turkish border is its only gateway to the outside world.