A former head of the Association of Realtors says large amounts of capital is locked up in banks instead of being used to prop up the struggling manufacturing sector,
Noting that the housing sector is mired in recession for the past three years, Mostafa Gholi Khosravi said the stranglehold has not eased , reports banker.ir.
“I simply do not believe in a process where the people’s money ends up with and is blocked in the banks. This money must be used as credit at the disposal of the people to help improve the economy,” he said.
Unlike in the rest of the world where capital exits the banks and moves toward production sectors, “In Iran, capital is blocked in the banks.”
The real estate expert believes a decrease in interest rates should help resuscitate the long dormant property market, though admitting that the rates are not the only determining factor.
In order to improve the construction and housing sectors, Khosravi (like very many seasoned economists and experts) recommends the government to offer 60-80% of a home’s price as loan – a policy that is the norm in most countries.
“The second half of the current fiscal year (ending in March) is when the housing market starts to emerge and next year will be the time when it starts to boom,” he says. On the same wavelength he rushes to add: “We are pretty far from the previous housing boom era where 14,000 deals were done in one day.”
He notes that there is some hope for a better future for the housing market because realtors have been receiving more and more inquiries recently.
Describing the present era as a “century of information technology”, he says, “Those who want to be active in real estate must (also) be well-versed in IT.”
On the activities of real estate agencies in IT and creating an efficient real-estate system in the country, he said: “Exploring new areas within the housing sector can help revitalize the real estate agencies.”
