Blog
Lama Hajj

How The Hell Are We Supposed To Buy Apartments In Lebanon?

N.B This post was originally published in November 2015.

We woke up one day and found that a typical apartment in Beirut costs upwards of $1.5 million, and I’m not talking about a swanky apartment with a gym or anything like that – those are likely to run you in the double-digit-millions. I’m talking about a fairly average apartment in Ras Beirut. How does this reflect the reality of wages earned in Lebanon? Do citizens not have a right to live in their own capital?

There’s always been a problem with price indexing in Lebanon, pricing is erratic and uncontrolled – but real estate in Beirut is a problem in particular.

And I love when real estate companies try to sell you on areas outside of Beirut like, “Oh Metn is only a 16 minute drive from Lebanon’s capital.” It’s like bitch what are you driving? An airbus? I spend 16 minutes at a traffic light in Hamra every single day. And what’s with the fancy as fuck names for these apartments? “Luxury High Sky Tower” – just name your apartment “Rich Dicks Only” and be done with it.

Beirut has become the city where you can have breakfast, lunch, and dinner for under $7, and need several millions for a very average family-sized apartment.

And the banks with their 3-5% interest rate. After you get through the grueling process of applying for a loan, after you give up your soul and pawn your youngest child in exchange for a compounded interest rate that is sure to screw you for the next 30 years, then come the down-payments: “Just pay 1/3 of the total apartment price.” Okay cool, please hang on for one second while I reach up my ass and grab $500,000 real quick. Let’s not forget that at least 30% of Lebanese citizens live below poverty lines – and that’s an outdated and conservative estimate. Real estate brokers should make special deals with us, trade kidneys for down-payments.

We woke up one day and found that a typical apartment in Beirut costs upwards of $1.5 million. When did this happen? And how can we stop it?