Investment Wave in Damaged Buildings Drives Up Ground-Floor Prices in Eastern Aleppo

The eastern districts of Aleppo, still home to hundreds of cracked and collapsed buildings since the war, are witnessing growing commercial activity that has pushed up the prices and rents of ground floors and basements, though they remain far below those in western Aleppo. This trend has drawn local investors to buy, rent, or seize the lower floors of damaged buildings to convert them into shops and small businesses, despite the structural risks and lack of public safety standards.

Investors are capitalising on the high population density in the eastern districts and the gradual revival of commercial activity there following the fall of the Assad regime. Abu Ramdo, a shopkeeper in the Al-Saleheen neighbourhood, said he obtained the consent of his brother-in-law, who lives in Germany, to turn part of his 20-square-metre home in the basement of a ruined building into a grocery shop. He explained that the dense population in the area makes any business venture economically viable despite the risks. “It was difficult at first because the building was damaged, but the idea came to life, and now I make my living from this shop,” he said.

Hussein Barakat, a real estate trader in the Al-Marjeh district, told The Syria Report that it is extremely difficult to buy all the apartments within a ruined building because some of the owners are abroad. The best solution, he said, is to buy only the ground floor and convert it into commercial units. Mr Barakat purchased two ground floors in different buildings with a total area of 480 square metres at an average price of SYP 1 million per square metre (about USD 87), and he is currently renovating them for use as shops.

In the nearby Al-Maadi neighbourhood, fava bean vendor Abu Abdo Hayek bought a commercial property topped by partially destroyed apartments, especially on its front façade, and turned it into a shop selling foul and falafel. He said he bought the shop “for next to nothing” – about USD 25 per square metre – from its owner residing in Turkey, without caring about the risks posed by the building’s damage. He added that the growing number of occupied flats in the neighbourhood in the months following the regime’s fall has stimulated commercial activity and increased demand for lower floors.

In the Al-Sukkari district, near the southern ring road, cracked buildings have had their ground floors converted into commercial shops – some partially renovated, others still surrounded by rubble. Residents there estimated that around 200 buildings in Al-Sukkari are fully or partially destroyed, roughly one-third of the neighbourhood’s total, while about 30 new shops have opened in these damaged structures.

Similar scenes are found in the neighbourhoods of Al-Firdous, Al-Marjeh, Bab Al-Nairab, Al-Shaar, Al-Sakhour, Al-Haidariyah, Masakin Hanano, Tariq Al-Bab, and the Jisr Al-Hajj area, where investing in the lower floors of destroyed buildings has become widespread. This phenomenon is driven by a modest recovery in local commerce and the complete absence of technical oversight by the authorities.

Several real estate agents said that prices for lower floors in these areas have doubled in recent months, reaching around SYP 400 million for a 120-square-metre flat. Factors such as the neighbourhood, the building’s location, and the extent of its damage all play a role in determining the price.

On the northern ring road, near the eastern edge of the Al-Midan district, the Al-Harritani building at the Bostan Al-Basha junction stands as a clear example of this trend. The large structure, which witnessed some of the fiercest battles between opposition and Islamist forces on one side and Assad’s troops on the other between 2012 and 2016, has seen its ground and first floors converted into shops and offices despite severe damage. Although shelling scars remain visible on its walls, the stability of its framework has attracted investors, making it one of the most notable examples of investment in destroyed buildings in eastern Aleppo.

Mohammad, one resident, told The Syria Report that he bought a 30-square-metre unit overlooking the main street on the first floor of the building next to Al-Harritani and that he obtained a renovation permit for his section. However, a neighbour said that getting such a permit for these kinds of structures is virtually impossible. Under building regulations, owners must provide documents and engineering reports proving structural safety before any internal renovation or minor repair – such as replacing water, electricity, or sewage systems, tiling, or painting – can be approved. But obtaining such documentation is unfeasible in many eastern Aleppo districts, which are largely unplanned informal settlements where most buildings lack proper licences.

The Al-Harritani building is not an isolated case. Such practices have become widespread across eastern Aleppo. A local contractor explained that the difficulty of obtaining commercial licences in the city’s western districts has driven many to turn to the ruined buildings of the east for investment. He added that the front lower floors of many damaged buildings have been turned into upscale shops, bought by real estate traders at low prices who compensated apartment owners with sums far below the true value of their property.

This expansion has been accompanied by an almost total absence of technical oversight and lax enforcement of public safety standards. Shops in damaged buildings now operate informally, taking advantage of weakened administrative institutions following the regime’s fall and the residents’ growing economic need. Local engineers fear that the continuation of this phenomenon will increase the risk of building collapses amid the complete lack of any reconstruction plan or structural safety assessments.