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العربية
Neither history nor the present has recorded a government that insists on giving a job and immediate housing to every citizen for eternity. It hasn’t been recorded for a simple reason: it’s an impossible task for even the greatest people and nations.
It is agreed upon in concepts and stipulated in constitutions that the duty and role of governments is to provide means, environment, and “ways of decent living” for all members of the people.
Provision is natural, fair, and possible. Direct giving, a gold bar in one hand and a silver bar in the other, is a fantasy and impossible.
But it seems we have a different opinion on this matter.
The government, which employs about 90% of its citizens, knows directly, presently, and certainly the income of each individual, yet ignores the fact that residential real estate prices have reached mythical levels that are financially and economically impossible for 90% of the people.
It also ignores the professional and precise organization of the land and real estate sector, despite it being the second largest economic sector in the country. The volume of real estate transactions in Kuwait for 2024 reached about 3.7 billion Kuwaiti dinars (Mubasher website, January 2025).
Regulation is important for several reasons, including that it may enhance factors that support the option of buying housing from the open market. The current situation supports price inflation more and more.
Real estate prices in Kuwait are completely unfair. Yes, it’s a reality, yes, we’re forced into it. But it’s an inverted, distorted, and ugly reality. It’s unfair in terms of living standards as we mentioned, and as it’s a basic need and human right for everyone.
It’s unfair by urban planning standards and technical specifications, and in comparison to the cost of services, currency value, oil prices, and the overall economy.
Even if the government and some justify the high prices for any reason, how do they justify the huge jumps in prices over short periods that may reach an increase of 20-30% of the declared value within hours? If this happened to a sack of onions or a school bag, all hell would break loose!
We believe the government has many options, but it insists on the largest, heaviest, and most expensive impossible solution that has great harm to the psychological state of individuals, social balance and demographic distribution, as well as the security and economic situation of the country and its sustainability.
The government ideas and projects that some pin hopes on to reduce the crisis or decrease prices become, in this strange environment, a source of profit and another factor for increasing inflation, and with it, the exacerbation of the citizen’s crisis and housing.
The real estate developer is the latest of these.
