Property prices soar in Algiers

House prices rise Prices of apartments in Algeria\'s capital Algiers and suburbs have rocketed up, with experts predicting a 400% increase by early next year Speaking to Arabstoday, Abdul Hakim Oweidat, president of the National Federation of Real Estate Agencies, said that \"housing prices will rise by early 2013, going up around 400%, due to the major projects that were erected nearby.\"
Oweidat added that up to 1.5 million vacant properties around Algiers led to the rapid surge in prices.
However, observers put the rise in prices down to an increase in demand and shortage of supply, especially with the erection of new commercial and urban areas like Bab Elzewar and Sidi Abdallah.
Despite the Khomasy project, and plans to finish a million housing units, the government is still unable to eliminate the crisis, as each apartment is taken up by around seven people.
More recently, in an attempt to curb speculation that increases prices, the Ministry of Housing and construction released a list of prices of apartments and real estates in the capital.