House rents rose in the city of Lattakia, western Syria, after the earthquake, to reach two million Syrian pounds per month for an apartment, after it was estimated at about 400,000 pounds, as a result of the large increase in demand for rents in exchange for little supply.

The loyal “Melody” radio quoted a real estate office owner as saying that the highest price for a furnished apartment in a privileged location was about one million pounds before the earthquake, while the average house rent is now about 1.4 million pounds, and an empty room is between 150,000 and 200,000 pounds.

House rent prices in Damascus rose to record levels as a result of increased demand after the displacement of earthquake-stricken families.

Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper quoted the owner of a real estate office as saying that rental prices have risen 100 times compared to what they were before 2011, indicating that rents start at 500 thousand pounds and reach two million pounds, according to the location of the house.

He pointed out that the reason for the rise in rental prices is the increase in demand and lack of supply, given the presence of hundreds of thousands of destroyed homes, and the absence of new construction projects, noting that the displacement from the affected areas “made matters worse.”

He pointed out that apartment owners justify the increase in rent prices due to the high cost of living, especially since most of them live off the rent of their apartments.

As a result of the earthquake, the number of collapsed buildings in the areas controlled by the Syrian regime has reached about 700, in addition to hundreds of damaged buildings in Aleppo, Hama and Latakia, according to official statistics.