Real estate sector braces for price hike, warns housing investors association

AMMAN — The real estate sector is expected to see a price hike ranging between JD2,000 and JD3,500 due to the “unjustified” price increase of construction materials such as iron, cement, aluminium, ceramics and others, according to the head of the Jordanian Housing Investors Association, Kamal Al Awamleh.

“The exploitation of the conditions due to the Ukrainian crisis by some suppliers and importers as well as the high freight charges has led to the price hike of construction materials,” Awamleh said.

The housing projects under construction, which are expected to finish in summer 2022, are supposed to be affected by the expected price hike, as they will be purchasing materials at the higher prices, he told The Jordan Times.

The price of a tonne of iron has increased by 100 per cent from four months ago, reaching more than JD840, and a tonne of cement has increased by 25 per cent, Awamleh said. He noted that this will be reflected on housing prices by about JD2,000-3,500 per apartment during the summer of 2022, depending on various factors.

Awamleh said that the price hike is “unjustified and greedy”, since the factories have stocks of construction materials in warehouses.

“The real estate price increase will not be in the interest of investors and citizens, which will cause stagnation in the local market,” he added.

Awamleh called on the government to exempt construction materials from customs, and exempt or reduce sales taxes for investors, as well as to carry out factory inventory inspections.