Investing In RE In Iraq
Iraq! What comes to your mind when you think of this country where it is said the fabled Babylon once flourished and where Nebuchadnezzar held sway? Or perhaps the Garden of Eden that is aid to have existed in what is modern day Iraq? Nowadays it is not these images that will flash to your mind, rather it would be the sight of a county overrun by American platoons and Marines flashing their guns as they patrol the heavily guarded streets of Bahgdad. Yes, and sights of so many car and suicide bombings that have ravaged the land and made it a ghost town. After Saddam fell, Iraq has seen so much sectarian violence and ambushes that it seems that only a madman would be interested in investing in real estate in Iraq.
It would indeed take a lot of spunk for anyone to think of investing in real estate in Iraq. On one hand, you have the people running scared and unhappy, so afraid for their very lives. There is so much uncertainty in every nook and corner of Iraq that it boggles the mind.
At such a time, the very thought of real estate investment seems very less plausible, doesn't it? But it is amazing to note that the real estate scene in Iraq is actually picking up. There have been some enquiries and action on the ground in terms of real estate pickings as well as listings online. Take for instance the Abbassi Real Estate's website that states that the estate is on offer for $2.1 million dollars and has all the amenities that any palatial mansion could offer. It is a 8-bedroom humongous building with bathrooms with gold plated taps and even a beautiful indoor swimming pool that could very well have been in a villa in Florida.
Its just that this mansion is located in Baghdad, where all the war action seems to be happening in terms of violence and killings. Under Saddam's regime, there were huge restrictions on foreigners investing in real estate in Iraq. Now that Saddam's regime has been toppled, there is an unprecedented increase in the interest in as well as prices that people are willing to pay for properties in Iraq, with some of the prices being over 5 times of what they were even as early as a year ago. This is certainly limited to some of the choicest localities in Baghdad, but for a start the increase is encouraging. It is reported that there are many foreign companies and some individuals too who had fled at the start of the war feel that the situation is improving and conditions are ripe for investing in real estate in Iraq.
Apart from Baghdad, other cities where a lot of property action is happening is in Mosul, Basra and also in the Kurdistan area. You do not really have to venture out to Iraq itself to see the properties for yourself. You can just log online and see what is on offer through the various real estate sites that exist in the virtual world. There are some options for investing in real estate in Iraq that are increasing in a trickle nowadays.
