Northern Syria – The earthquake that struck northern Syria last February exacerbated the stagnation in the real estate market in opposition-held areas of Idlib and Aleppo provinces, where cities and towns affected by the earthquake and aftershocks are witnessing a significant stagnation in the sale of storey houses.
The disaster, which killed thousands of Syrians, lost the confidence of the people in those houses, after the collapse and cracking of thousands of buildings in northern Syria, which caused a decrease in demand for purchases, accompanied by an escalation and a wide demand from the population to buy ground houses and land suitable for construction.
The psychological factor played a major role in the general mood of the population in Idlib, as the families' desires changed from living in high-rise buildings that overlook large areas to looking for ground houses or first floors mainly, for fear of earthquakes.
According to the Syrian Civil Defense, more than 550 buildings collapsed in northwestern Syria as a result of the devastating earthquake last February, partially damaged about 1570,<> buildings, and thousands of buildings cracked to become uninhabitable.
Before the earthquake, Mohammed al-Khudair, a resident of Salqin city in rural Idlib, received many calls to inspect his house for sale at a real estate transaction office, and sometimes had to take permission from work, to receive a customer wishing to buy his house located on the fourth floor.
Fears of residents of northern Syria about storey buildings after the earthquake affected the movement of buying and selling real estate (Al-Jazeera)
The stagnation of the real estate market
Al-Khudair said – in an interview with Al Jazeera Net – that the purchase offers and communications stopped completely after the earthquake disaster, and no one wants to see the house or buy it, attributing it to people's fears of aftershocks and the collapse of buildings that rise to several floors.
Al-Khudair confirmed that real estate offices began a bargaining process to buy his house at half the price offered for sale before the earthquake disaster (the price of the house is $ 15,<>), pointing out that the owners of the offices tried to exploit his need and the stagnation of real estate markets throughout the region for sale, but he refused to do so.
Although the Syrian Khudair building suffered minor damage that did not pose a danger to residents, the owners of the offices told him that the damaged houses were no longer desirable by buyers and that he had to sell to the first person knocking on his door.
The stalemate that accompanied the sale of floor houses witnessed what can be called gambling and luck, according to real estate dealer Hussein Rahal, explaining that a group of enterprising traders are buying these properties in the hope of changing the level of prices in the next stage.
Rahal said – in an interview with Al Jazeera Net – that these traders consider the current stage a golden opportunity to buy some real estate from the owners of the need at a low price, and then sell it in the future at a better price and achieve gains at the expense of the tragedy of people in the earthquake.
Rahal believes that there will be a slight improvement in real estate sales and purchases, but this depends on the continuation of the security and military stability in the region and the non-return of military escalation between the Syrian regime and the Syrian opposition forces on the fronts of northwestern Syria.
The sale of underground houses flourished and demand for them doubled in the aftermath of the earthquake in northern Syria (Al Jazeera)
Land market recovery
The fear that accompanied the disaster made the people tend to get closer to the land, as the residents' desires tend to live in underground buildings, including Arab houses, which were not the focus of attention of any of the residents of the area, but they have finally become very popular because of the element of safety that they possess.
Saeed al-Hassan pointed out that he sold his Arab house in rural Idlib in the aftermath of the earthquake after buyers flocked to it, and received a price increase higher than the one he offered before the disaster by about $ 3,<>.
Al-Hassan confirmed that he offered his Arab house for sale more than six months ago without any customers present, even just to watch, before his house became desirable by residents who are afraid to live in high-rise buildings.
Like Arab homes, the land market witnessed a remarkable recovery after the earthquake disaster, as the prices of a meter of land increased to almost double, according to real estate trader Rahhal, pointing out that many humanitarian organizations have purchased land to establish shelters for those affected by the earthquake.
Rahal pointed out that a meter of land in rural Idlib has exceeded $10, especially in areas near camps for displaced Syrians.