Iraq seek more property investors

Country: Iraq

The Iraqi government has stepped up its attempts to attract more overseas property investors buy passing legislation that permits overseas nations to own land for residential construction projects, while the actual planning process is to be simplified.

Following the recent war, Iraq is in desperate need of new homes, as the existing housing shortage is in its millions, and the country sees foreign investment as holding the key to alleviating the problem.

In the past, international investors have shunned the Iraq property market, not just because of the recent military conflict, but due to the fact that there was a lot of red tape involved with buying property in Iraq. But these laws are now being altered to make investing in Iraq real estate easier.

Sami al-Araji, National Investment Commission chairman, commented: “This is a huge achievement for everybody, the Parliament, the cabinet and the Iraqi people. This will remove many obstacles blocking the investment process in Iraq. Housing is a potentially huge growth industry.”