The current wave of property sales in Hezbollah's stronghold in southern Beirut, the Dahiyeh, has become an economic phenomenon.
Apartment owners are trying to get rid of properties for fear of another escalation round and are willing to lose now so as not to lose everything later.
For example, about a month ago, a 3-room apartment in Rweiss in the Dahiyeh was sold for $105,000, about $30,000 less than the price a year ago. This is not an isolated case. Real estate sites in Lebanon are flooded with sale ads from the Shiite neighborhoods in the south of the capital, and brokers report sharp declines and weak demand. Brokers talk about a 20% to 40% drop in prices and in many cases a plunge of more than 50%.
The price per square meter in the heart of the Dahiyeh, which used to be $1,300 to $1,500, has now been cut to $500 to $700. Prices in relatively expensive areas like the "American neighborhood" and San Therese, which were $2,000 to $3,000 per square meter, now hover around $1,000.