patrick.net

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/07/business/can-black-gold-fuel-luxury-iraqi/index.html

These bountiful natural resources [oil and gas] combined with the relative stability of northern Iraq have helped fuel a nascent luxury property boom in recent years -- no mean feat in a country that has been pummeled by three wars, brutal dictatorship and recurring sectarian tensions over the last three decades.

I'm listening...

"I don't know how to describe it but it is growing and it will still grow," explained Dean Michael, chairman of Atconz Group, a Iraqi company behind a series of developments in Erbil's luxury property sector.

...haha, confidence without fundamentals...

Michael is overseeing the construction of a vast neighborhood of four bedroom villas spread over 8 million square feet of land to the north of the city at an estimated cost of $550 million.
A 200-square-meter villa in 2010 here sold for $350 per square meter ($32 per sq ft). That same unit in 2013 averaged $1,250 per square meter ($116 per sq ft), more than tripling in value over three years.

...from $70k to $200k in 3 years!

"I believe that we will be comparable to modern countries and cities in about 10 years time," Michael confidently stated.

Yes, you will be slaves to debt, too...congratulations!

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/iraq-housing-crisis-budget.html

For years now, Iraq has been undergoing a harrowing housing crisis, bringing with it skyrocketing prices in real estate and rentals.

“If housing loans come to a halt, a significant number of Iraqis would be deprived of suitable homes to live in,” added Bassam.

Welcome to modern society.

#housing