Financial Tribune- A housing official said the recent meteoric rise in house prices in some of the districts of Tehran, which far surpassed the inflation, are not “real” and must decline.

Iraj Rahbar, vice president of the Association of Builders, said the rise in home prices are not related to the price hike in housing materials, which he said have registered an average growth of 40%.

“House price growth in some districts of Tehran such as District 5, which registered a growth of 40-50%, has been triggered by speculators, which is unreal and must definitely decline,” Rahbar was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency.

He added that price growths in some districts such as 12 and 18, which had been about 3-5% or at the level of inflation–currently hovering at around 8%–could be considered normal.