Four-room apartments are worth as much as US$ 400,000. Given that an average monthly salary in Tajikistan equals US$ 110 and GDP per capita, according to the National Bank of Tajikistan, is US$ 330 per month, elite apartments seem alien to Tajikistan’s realities. The period during the civil war and immediately after the signing of the peace accord, when one could buy an apartment in the center of Dushanbe for as little as US$ 1500, is long passed. With a booming population of over 7 million and a serious lack of employment opportunities in the periphery, Dushanbe is the most attractive place to live in Tajikistan today. Undoubtedly, demand for real estate is extremely high because, apart from this elite group of buildings, no major noteworthy construction has been completed. With a strong shortage of supply of space for the population as well as a lack of business centers and attractive hotels, foreign and local companies tend to rent private apartments for offices.

The International Organization for Migration notes that, on average, purchasing an apartment is the third highest priority of those working in Russia, other CIS, or near abroad countries. There is also real fear that with extremely limited supply, property prices will keep going up and the value of money going down. Furthermore, a lack of locally produced construction material makes the cost of building new apartments more expensive as well.

To add to this, the administration of Dushanbe city is planning to start the implementation and realization of the GenPlan, which had been put forward in the 1980s with a view to creating additional housing opportunities in the capital for the growing population. As a result, Dushanbe should be divided into three circles: central, suburban, and periphery, where the central circle would include multiple story buildings for offices and business class apartments. It is this central territory that is soon to be freed for construction. Those having houses, gardens, land, or other type of property in the circle are to be compensated and given land in the periphery for building houses of two or more stories. Getting land in exchange for property in the central circle is not guaranteed, however, and is conditional upon legally occupying the given territories. One can only suppose that properties can be turned into legal and illegal by various means shortly. The start of this construction in the central circle is, in turn, dependant on investors, which implies that people are to be removed but the construction, like in the 1980s, is to be delayed indefinitely.

It is unclear whether the government understands that at the moment, Tajikistan needs economy class apartments in a price range of US$15,000-US$30000. Currently, the demand for Soviet-time apartments that are priced in this value range is very high. Due to the large demand and shortage of supply, even prices for Soviet ‘khrushchevkas’ are accelerating impatiently, in anticipation of the government coming up with some kind of alternative ways to purchase property. The government’s priorities are apparent: first of all, a review of property acts and the legal framework. Secondly, conditions and opportunities for mortgages are not sufficiently institutionalized in the legislation. Unless this happens, it would be impossible to guarantee liability and enforcement of terms and conditions in that regard. For example, the biggest commercial bank, OrienBank, which is present throughout Tajikistan and has the largest capital and assets, is willing to start mortgage programs if the parliament sets up a legal platform for this practice. However, even if Tajikistan goes as far as Kazakhstan, where newly built houses in Astana are offered mortgage packages with payments of 40 percent of the total property price, the term of 7 years is an extremely optimistic period for completing the payment for an average Tajikistani customer.

If the government of Tajikistan is unable to provide budget housing for its growing citizens in the capital, it has to make every effort to provide such basic needs as electricity, schooling, and transportation in the villages to stop the active relocation of people to the capital. Otherwise, it could end up wasting already extremely scarce land for the construction of elite houses like in Turkmenistan, while people moving to the capital end up living with their relatives.