Property prices in western Baghdad surge with construction of Al-Jawahiri complex

BAGHDAD — Construction on a new residential complex in western Baghdad has nearly doubled real estate prices in one of the city’s most remote neighborhoods, Nawwab Al-Dubbat.

Al-Jawahiri City, named after Iraqi poet Muhammad Mahdi Al-Jawahiri, is set to become one of the largest housing projects in Iraq and will host 40,000 units in the Abu Ghraib district. Construction began in December 2023 and is slated for completion within three years.

As a result, real estate prices in Nawwab Al-Dubbat have more than doubled from an average of 30 to 50 million Iraqi dinars ($22,900 to $38,000) for 200 square meter plots to an astounding 100 million dinars ($76,300).

Despite the surge in prices, streets in the neighborhood remain unfinished, with some areas lacking basic infrastructure such as power lines or sewage systems.

A local real estate agent in the area told 964media, “The rise in property prices in Nawwab Al-Dubbat neighborhood is unparalleled in Al-Haswa because it is a new neighborhood with undeveloped land.”

The increase in property values is attributed to the neighborhood’s proximity to the new Al-Jawahiri residential complex and ongoing municipal efforts to install a sewage network for stormwater drainage. Plans to complete street paving and electricity distribution are also underway.

“Demand for plots of land in the Nawwab Al-Dubbat neighborhood is not only from within Al-Haswa but extends beyond the entire Abu Ghraib district,” the agent added.