By Mehdi Sepahvand – Trend:

The housing sector is suffering greatly from a decline of the government's developmental projects, according to a businessman in the field.

"The government has drastically diminished its developmental projects. As you know, the government is one of the biggest consumers of housing material. As a result, the housing industries are suffering," Bijan Atarod, head of the Mechanical Housing Installations Association told Trend December 18.

In its recently proposed budget bill for the next fiscal year (to start March 21), the administration diminished the developmental budget by over 10 percent.

Iran's enduring housing, and as a result construction, recession has cost many Iranians their dream of homeownership while depleting their purchasing power due to higher rent. The housing sector is unlikely to return anytime soon to the days when it was Iran's best investment option. The recession has been lingering for over five years now.

In a recent sign of hope, on December 16, the inauguration of Nasim Tower marked the first housing project in Iran to be financed by a real estate investment trust (REIT).

The project, which has been three years in the making, marks the first housing initiative to tap the capital market as its main source of funding and sparks new hope for the key sector's redemption in the face of a long-running slump.

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