Enab Baladi – Zeinab Dawwa

The real estate market in Damascus and its suburbs has witnessed stagnation in buying and selling residential apartments, particularly following the fall of the Assad regime, and the halt of government departments that handle property registration, transfer of ownership, and formalities, since December 8, 2024.

The lack of cash liquidity among people and the fluctuations in the dollar exchange rate have affected property prices since liberation, as the monetary value of any property is determined accordingly.

According to what Enab Baladi has observed through several real estate offices in Damascus, residential property prices have decreased to “almost half” at present, amidst a “disinclination to buy.” A house that was priced at 500 million Syrian pounds (approximately $50,000) has recently dropped to 300 million pounds, and there are houses priced at no more than 150 million pounds.

Regarding rooms with facilities, a room that was priced at 100 million has now become 50 million pounds, according to Mohammed Ali, a real estate office owner for Enab Baladi in the Mezzeh 86 area.

The office owner mentioned that house prices reached record numbers in the informal neighborhoods of Damascus before the fall of the regime, with some recording prices of 500 million pounds or more, depending on the location and area of the house.

Today, despite the stagnation in property buying and selling, rents for homes in Syria, especially in major cities, continue to rise steadily due to various economic and living factors.

Previously, as the suffering of families in the areas controlled by the regime increased and hope for improvement diminished, there was a surge in the supply of real estate sales to support families in sending their children out of Syria to countries of asylum, which led to a boom in sales at that time.

Causes of stagnation

Economic researcher Khaled Turkawi told Enab Baladi that stagnation is not just in the buying and selling of properties but across the entire market. He attributed the stagnation to the fluctuation of the Syrian pound against foreign currencies.

He added that people’s hesitance before buying or selling affects the stagnation of property prices, due to market instability, and that owners are delaying renovation processes to avoid losses arising from currency fluctuations, alongside the halt of departments responsible for property transfer procedures.

Turkawi mentioned that property traders believed that the return of displaced persons from abroad following the regime’s fall would bring them back with money and a desire to purchase real estate, but there has been no movement in this direction.

Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, a representative of the UNHCR in Syria, revealed that 270,000 Syrian refugees have returned to their homeland since the fall of the Assad regime, “while a far larger number are planning to return next year.”

He highlighted in a post on the “X” platform last February that more than a quarter of Syrian refugees plan to return within the next 12 months to rebuild their lives.

Disinclination to buy

Ahmad Ali, a young man encountered by Enab Baladi, said that the stagnation in the real estate market creates fear among buyers, noting that he intends to purchase a property (a commercial shop) in the Mezzeh area, but prefers to wait until the exchange rate stabilizes, as he fears purchasing a property that may decrease in price in the coming days.

Despite the decrease in the dollar price, the implementation of a free-market economy, and the notable drop in prices, the prices of properties, although reduced, are still likely to experience further instability and fluctuations between increases and decreases due to the lack of regulations, market ambiguity, and general anxiety about security conditions.

Concerning one of the most significant factors influencing the rise or fall in property prices, economic researcher Khaled Turkawi emphasized the supply and demand factor. When demand for properties exceeds supply, prices tend to be high, granting the seller a position of strength to set their desired price, and conversely, when demand decreases and supply increases, prices significantly decline.

He explained that before the fall of the regime, due to shelling, families were forced to sell their properties in order to travel, contributing to a considerable decline in property prices.

Apartments in Damascus priced like those in European cities

The prices of apartments in neighborhoods such as Abu Rummaneh and al-Malki reach tens of billions of Syrian pounds, and these prices have often astonished economic analysts, as they rival apartment prices in European capitals or cities known for luxurious real estate markets like Dubai.

Mustafa Mohammed, a real estate office owner in the al-Tadamon area, told Enab Baladi that even after the recent decline, apartment prices in the Abu Rummaneh and al-Malki areas still range from one billion to approximately 30 billion Syrian pounds (from $100,000 to $300,000), depending on the property’s location and size.

He noted that prices before the fall of the regime started from 1.5 billion and went up to 45 billion pounds.

Currently, the price of an apartment in the Dummar Project and Qudsaya varies between one billion and one and a half billion Syrian pounds, depending on the location and size, whereas previously it ranged between two and two and a half billion pounds based on the location and size.

What is required from the new government

Economic researcher Khaled Turkawi emphasized the role of the government in determining real estate policies that suit the reality, making property prices acceptable through property regulation laws, and ensuring that prices are clear to customers when buying or selling a property or even for restoring homes that were taken from their rightful owners during the previous regime.

He highlighted the importance of property insurance in terms of the legality and licensing of property papers to avoid obstacles when valuing them.

Turkawi pointed out that the government could assist citizens in terms of property loans by providing home repair loans, especially for those who lost their homes, and encouraging real estate institutions to enter especially in rural areas for construction.

During the previous regime, anyone wanting to buy or rent a property faced issues related to documenting contracts of all kinds, which could extend to prohibiting residence.

According to the Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ) organization, security approval was a condition for organizing rental contracts and is considered one of the main problems regarding rental issues; thus, it obstructed legal provisions and the possibility of registering rental contracts based on the will of the contracting parties without security approval.

According to the organization, every rental contract organized with the administrative entity was submitted to the relevant security authorities for approval or rejection.