High Housing Cost, Low Incomes, Inflation Three Top Concerns In Tehran

The results of a recent poll show that high rents and skyrocketing home prices are the main concern among the residents of the Iranian capital Tehran.

Donya-e-Eqtesad, an Iranian economic newspaper, reported that based on the responses of the participants in this poll, low incomes and very high inflation top the concerns of respondents after the high cost of housing.

According to the poll findings, half of the household income in Tehran is spent on rent, with every family paying 150,000,000 rials (approx. $300) on average for rent.

This is while more than 50 percent of the participants said that their income is less than 160,000,000 rials (approx. $320) per month.

Related figures also indicate that nationwide, 39 percent of household incomes is spent on housing on average, Donya-e-Eqtesad quoted Ali Farnam, an official in the research center of the Iranian parliament as saying.

According to international standards, the optimal housing cost is considered to be 30 percent of the household income at most.

Farnam added that high real estate prices relative to incomes is the main reason behind the rise of rents in Iran.

This obstacle can only be removed if real growth in household income is achieved via optimal and continuous economic growth, Farnam pointed out.

Wages in Iran have sharply declined in relative terms as the country has experienced above-40-percent inflation in the past three years. The Iranian currency has fallen 12-fold since 2018, when the United States withdrew from the JCPOA nuclear accord and imposed sanctions on Iran.