Purchasers are assured of a hot climate, a cosmopolitan atmosphere and a strategic Middle East location. Against that must be set the not inconsiderable risks of car bombs, kidnapping and possible civil war.
“The Iraqi market is booming,” says the upbeat website for Abbassi Real Estate of Ilford. “But, whether you are looking for a house for the family or somewhere to retire, you need expert knowledge.”
Properties include a £1.1m Baghdad mansion, a £110,000 five-bedroom house in the capital and a two-bedroom starter home in Karbala for £67,000.
“The most expensive property we’ve sold has been about £1.2m a couple of months ago,” said Mustapha Abbas, one of the company’s directors. “Before the war it would have cost about £28,000. Uday Hussein was once interested.”
That mansion has eight bedrooms, three marbled bathrooms, an indoor swimming pool and a drive with room for six cars.
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Abbas said that most people showing interest were Iraqis who had fled Saddam Hussein’s regime and now wished to return. Many others, however, were waiting for the country to become more stable before investing in property. Only Iraqis can buy the freehold of a house. Foreigners can take possession of a property only on a lease of 40 years.
He said one concern was the fear of fraud, heightened by several cases in which houses had been “sold” by Iraqis who were not the genuine owners. Another was fear of injury or death. “We do warn people that it’s a dangerous place,” he said.