Laure AL KHOURY and Salam FARAJ
Iraqi telecommunications worker Youssef Ahmed is married with a five-year-old son, but lives with his parents because he is unable to afford his own home amid soaring property prices.
“Even if your income increases, it will never be up to the exorbitant prices of houses or land”, said 29-year-old Ahmed, who earns a “comfortable” monthly salary of $1,000, double the national average.
In oil-rich but corruption plagued Iraq, real estate has become a popular way to launder money, including stolen public funds.