Editions: 
Search
Buy off-plan in Iraq?
By Mike Stock
Ok, I know what you're thinking, have they gone mad? Who would buy in Iraq? well Damac Developments, one of the biggest and most successful developers in the Middle East and Sigma International, an American company obviously think they know who. These are companies have a proven track record, they know their market well.
This might still officially be Iraq but by all other means, this is now Kurdistan, with Erbil being the capital, a town that recently has been going from strength to strength.
So we could say Erbil is the capital of a country in the making. While mayhem rules in Bagdad and Shiite and Sunnis are at each other's throats, the Kurds are building a nation. No car bombs here, up until recently the city was reverberating to the sound of construction.
Kurdistan is becoming increasingly prosperous and has a population of nearly 5 million. The area covers roughly 40,000 square kilometres, which is comparable in size to Switzerland.
Who is the market?
As already mentioned, foreign companies are already here, and with them come jobs and money, Companies from Turkey, America, Britain and many other nationalities have been vying for a piece of the action. Add to this the returning Kurds who have lived abroad and are now bringing their money with them as well as foreign investors and you have a pretty strong customer base.
Tarin Hills
A first-of-its-kind, Damac are building a fully integrated modern community here. Tarin Hills is the first fully self-contained master planned community to be developed across 4.5 million square metres of land. A conglomeration of residential, retail, commercial, hospitality, entertainment, health and sports components interwoven within the picturesque terrain.
This is truly an immense project and the second biggest that Damac has undertaken. The government has been active in making sure this and other projects take place in a city that is changing from week to week. Another project under way is the Korek Tower which will be the tallest building in Iraq and would not look out of place in Dubai.
Within the Tarin Hills development of 4.5 million square metres, as well are residences, there will also be: shopping centres, hotels, an 18 hole Golf course, cafes& restaurants, Supermarkets, a shopping Mall and even an onsite police station.
American Village, live the American dream, in Kurdistan!!
This exclusive development consists of 400 villas which have been designed and built like an east coast American style community. Yes you can live the American dream, in Kurdistan.
The development has its own high speed Internet network, restaurant, private security, waste water collection and treatment system, maintenance services, water supply, and more importantly for a region that is still on the Iraq power grid, its own 24-hour electricity.
This really is true luxury, buyers can choose between three different designs:
American Home which covers a floor area of 330 square metres, has 4/5 bedrooms and will cost from US $250,000.
Hawlerian Home which covers 520 square metres, has 4/5 bedrooms and start at US $445,000.
Palace Home which has a whopping 880 square metres of floor space, has 7 bedrooms and start at US $650,000
The future
Like most areas, Kurdistan has been hit by the economic slowdown and many constructions have been put on hold, but one thing to keep in mind is the fact that Kurdistan has incredible oil reserves. The southern area around Kirkuk is awash with oil and miles of oil pipelines connect the oil fields with Ceyhan in Turkey. This wealth, even in this latest crisis will bring profit. And as long as the government come up with incentives to bring in foreign investment, the future should be promising.
This may not be Spain or France, but to the serious investor or anyone with a little imagination and insight, this may well be a good investment. Maybe now is not the time as developers falter, but soon.
Any comments on this article, please post them on our forum page http://www.ipb-magazine.com/en/forum
Issue 4