Surge in Housing Prices in Tehran Approaches 90 Million Tomans per Square Meter

New statistics from the Central Bank indicate that the average price per square meter of housing in Tehran reached nearly 90 million tomans last month. According to the official data published on its website, the average price per square meter of housing in Tehran during the month of Mordad was 88 million and 500 thousand tomans, showing an increase of nearly 17 percent compared to Mordad last year. The ISNA news agency also reported on Sunday, October 1, citing the new statistics from the Central Bank, that 51 percent of the people in Tehran cannot afford to buy a house priced at 88 million tomans per square meter. The report adds that 51 percent of Tehran's households are renters who, in addition to enduring a 45 percent inflation in rent, would have to wait 48 years to purchase a home. The report further states that housing has become a significant problem for all people in recent years. The difference between the Central Bank's and the Statistical Center's estimates of housing inflation in Tehran is threefold. President Ebrahim Raisi's government had promised at the beginning of its term to build one million housing units annually to prevent the housing and rent inflation crisis; a promise that has not been realized even in small parts. When Ebrahim Raisi's government took office, the average price per square meter of a house in Tehran was below 32 million tomans. Mohammad Reza Rezai Koocheh, the head of the Parliament's Urban Development Commission, announced on April 25 that the progress of the 'National Housing Movement' plan has stalled at 2 percent, and only a 'very small' portion of the government housing projects has been delivered. He stated that what has been delivered is related to the 'National Housing Action' project of the previous government. Officials of the thirteenth government and other government authorities have not explained why this government has been unable to fulfill even a small part of its promises to resolve the housing crisis, and the fourteenth government has not yet provided a report on the status of launching housing construction plans and the new government's program for the housing sector. ISNA reports that buying a house has become a dream for people that they may not achieve during their lifetime. The report adds that there are over 5 million national housing households in the country that have not been able to buy a house in the last 19 years.