Following the adjustment of the official exchange rate, the real estate market in Erbil enters a freeze phase.
Following the adjustment of the official exchange rate, the real estate market in Erbil enters a freeze phase.
2026-10-07
Shafaq News – Erbil
A real estate expert in Erbil confirmed on Wednesday that the recent rise in the exchange rate of the US dollar against the Iraqi dinar has led to a freeze in the real estate market, predicting that this will be followed by a rise in the prices of investment housing units.
Sardar Azad, the owner of a real estate company in Erbil, told Shafaq News Agency that “the sudden rise in the dollar exchange rate and the instability in the markets have directly affected the sector; they initially led to a complete halt in buying and selling, and will later lead to an increase in the prices of residential units built by investment companies.”
He explained that “on the first day of the exchange rate increase, no real estate transactions or trading operations were recorded in the city of Erbil, due to the ambiguity of the situation and the lack of clarity for citizens and traders in the market.”
Azad added that “the expected rise in the prices of housing units under construction is due to two main reasons; the first is that all construction materials and supplies used in building projects are offered and sold in US dollars, which has increased their costs. The second reason is that units sold on an installment system now incur additional costs, which is directly reflected in the final price.”
The real estate expert called on citizens to “hold on to the cash available to them, whether in dollars or dinars, and not to rush to dispose of it at the present time,” stressing that “the market is witnessing a state of confusion and instability, and that the vision in the real estate sector – as is the case in the rest of the commercial sectors – is unclear at the present time.”
The Iraqi Cabinet, in its regular session held yesterday, Tuesday, decided to amend the exchange rate of the US dollar against the dinar, based on an emergency recommendation submitted by the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Central Bank.
According to the new instructions, the price is set as follows: (1500) dinars per dollar: the purchase price from the Ministry of Finance, (1510) dinars per dollar: the selling price to banks, and (1520) dinars per dollar: the selling price from banks and non-bank financial institutions to the end beneficiary.
Thus, the Central Bank has raised the exchange rate of the dollar against the dinar to the public by 20,000 dinars per 100 dollars, after it had been adopting a selling price of 1,320 dinars per dollar (132,000 dinars per 100 dollars).
Recently, the dollar exchange rate in the parallel markets in Iraq jumped to about 165,000 dinars per 100 dollars, influenced by leaks and expectations that preceded the announcement of the new official price.
shafaq.com
