Iraqi Cash Props Up a Softer Jordan Property Market

Jordan’s real estate trading volume fell 5% to JD2.458 billion ($3.47 billion) in the first five months of 2026, the Department of Lands and Survey said. The May print looked like a broad stall, yet the estimated value of purchases by non-Jordanians jumped 26% that month to JD19.65 million, and almost all of that extra foreign money went into apartments rather than land.

The dinar conversion uses the dinar’s peg near JD0.709 per dollar. The people still writing the foreign checks, led later in the year by Iraqi buyers, are the party the 5% headline buried.

May Cut Trading Volume to JD2.458 Billion

The Department of Lands and Survey’s May report, issued in mid-June, put five-month trading at JD2.458 billion, 5% below the same window in 2025. Monthly volume in May was JD474.27 million, 12% under May 2025 and 17% under April. Unit sales fell harder than value: overall sales were down 12% across the five months, with apartments off 9% and land off 13%.

May itself was weaker still. Total sales dropped 14% from May 2025 and 10% from April, with apartment sales down 12% year-on-year and 8% from April, and land sales down 14% and 11%. Companies bought 3,684 properties in the five-month stretch. Full-year 2025 trading had closed at JD7.179 billion, up 7%, so the spring print was a break from that run, not a continuation of it.

THE MAY PRINT AGAINST THE FIVE-MONTH RUN

Those rows are why a 5% value drop and a 12% sales drop can sit in the same report. Fewer deeds changed hands, and land, which is the slower, lumpier side of the ledger, fell more than flats. The department still publishes the department’s monthly property indicators as the official pulse of that split.

The Foreign Bid Moved Into Apartments

Non-Jordanian activity in May did not follow the local tape. The estimated value of those purchases rose 26% against both May 2025 and April 2026, to JD19.65 million, even as the number of foreign transactions in May fell 16% year-on-year and only rose 5% from April. Foreign buyers spent more per deal, and they spent it on housing they could rent or resell, not on plots that need a building plan.

Apartment sales to non-Jordanians rose 6% from May 2025 and 16% from April. Land sales to the same group fell 40% from May 2025 and 12% from April. Over the full five months, foreign transaction counts were down 11%, apartment purchases by non-Jordanians were down 2%, and foreign land purchases were down 23%. Five-month foreign value slipped 7% to JD75.31 million, which is about 3% of total trading. The May bounce in foreign apartment money was real, and it was still a thin slice of the market.

WHAT NON-JORDANIANS DID IN MAY

• Purchase value: JD19.65 million, up 26% from May 2025 and from April.
• Apartment deals: Up 6% from May 2025 and 16% from April.
• Land deals: Down 40% from May 2025 and 12% from April.
• Deal count: Down 16% from May 2025, up 5% from April.

A land plot is a development bet. An apartment is a finished unit with a lock on the door. In a year when officials also pointed to regional tension as a weight on trading, that mix is the rational one for a buyer who wants an asset that can be sold without pouring concrete first.

Iraqis Write 43% of the Foreign Checks

By the time the department tabulated the first eight months, the “non-Jordanian” line had a name. Non-Jordanian investors completed 1,515 ownership transactions, including 953 apartments, with an estimated value of JD147.11 million. Iraqi nationals led that list with 373 properties. Saudis followed with 195, then Syrians with 181, Palestinians with 141, and Americans with 121. Iraqi purchases were valued at JD63.078 million, or 43% of foreign purchase value.

FOREIGN BUYERS, FIRST EIGHT MONTHS OF 2026

Through seven months the department had already recorded the same pattern in milder form: foreign transaction counts down 5%, apartment transactions by non-Jordanians up 2%, land transactions down 16%, and foreign purchase value up 15% to JD123.4 million. Hossam Ayesh, an economic expert, said those figures show a shift in the nature of demand rather than a larger market, with fewer deals and more money in each one. August then added 257 foreign transactions, up 31% from August 2025 and 18% from July, including 167 apartments and 90 land plots.

That means a big chunk of FDI is going into non-tradable goods that aren’t necessarily productive. It lacks that competitive push.

Ibrahim Rihani, economist, to EnterpriseAM

Rihani put roughly a quarter of Jordan’s foreign-direct-investment stock in real estate. Iraqi money in Amman flats can support prices and keep developers finishing towers already in the ground. It does not, by itself, fund a factory or a new road, and it is a poor substitute for a wide local bid on land that would start the next round of building.

A Smaller May Envelope for the Treasury

Department revenues from trading fees and taxes were JD104.66 million in the first five months, only 1% below 2025, even as volume fell 5% and sales fell 12%. May was the weak month on this line too: revenues were JD18.90 million, down 10% from May 2025 and 16% from April. Officials tied the softer year to broader economic conditions, including regional tension.

The fee math helps explain the gap. For an ordinary sale between unrelated parties, the department’s schedule generally takes a 3% registration fee and a 3% property-sale tax on the property’s administrative value, a 6% combined take. Relatives, co-owners, and some apartment sales are charged less. Because the tax is levied on the assessed value, not on the headcount of deeds, a market that does fewer land deals and more high-value apartment transfers can shrink in unit terms while the cash register barely moves.

That is a mixed result for the treasury. The May envelope was lighter. The five-month total still came in close to the prior year, which means the state felt the slowdown later, and more faintly, than brokers did.

June and July Put Volume Back on the Board

The May print did not hold as the year’s story. June trading was JD584.336 million, up 7% from June 2025 and 23% from May, with 11,884 properties sold, up 12% year-on-year and 13% from May. June revenues jumped 39% year-on-year to JD24.207 million. First-half trading landed at JD3.042 billion, about 3% below the JD3.132 billion recorded in the first half of 2025, while first-half revenues rose 5% to JD128.864 million. First-half sales were still down 8%, with apartments off 5% and land off 9%, on 62,023 properties sold, and companies bought 4,633 of them.

FROM THE MAY LOW TO LATE SUMMER

1. End of 2025: Full-year trading closes at JD7.179 billion, up 7%, with department revenues of about JD275 million, up 5%.
2. January-May 2026: Volume falls 5% to JD2.458 billion; May alone is JD474.27 million.
3. June 2026: Volume rebounds to JD584.336 million; 11,884 properties sell.
4. July 2026: Volume rises 15% from June to JD673.8 million, still 10% below July 2025; seven-month trading is JD3.716 billion, down 4%.
5. August 2026: Sales rise 7% from July and less than 1% from August 2025; eight-month trading is about JD4.39 billion, down 4%.

July revenues were JD25.8 million, down 2% from July 2025 and up 7% from June, taking the seven-month revenue total to JD154.7 million, up 4%. Seven-month sales were still down 10%, apartments down 7% and land down 11%. July sales themselves fell 16% year-on-year and rose 17% from June. Companies had bought 5,674 properties through July. The summer rebound repaired the value line more than the unit line, and land remained the heavier drag on a year-on-year comparison even after the month-to-month bounce.

What the Permit Numbers Missed

Construction paperwork did not crash with May trading, and it did not fully confirm a new building wave either. The Department of Statistics said building permits rose 3.2% in the first half to 12,070, from 11,700 a year earlier. Licensed building area rose 2% to 4.87 million square metres from 4.77 million. Residential licensed area rose 10% to 4.03 million square metres from 3.66 million, while non-residential area fell 24% to 846,000 square metres from 1.11 million.

THE HALF-YEAR PERMIT SPLIT

• Permit count: 12,070 in the first half, up 3.2% from 11,700.
• Residential area: 4.03 million square metres, up 10%.
• Non-residential area: 846,000 square metres, down 24%.
• New buildings and additions: About 2.80 million square metres, down 7.6% from 3.03 million.

That last line is the one that matches the land drought. A large share of licensing covers buildings that already exist and are only now being brought onto the books. Through seven months, licensed area was 5.84 million square metres, up 4.7%, and 14,361 permits were issued, up 1.7%, but licensed area for new buildings and additions fell 2.9% to about 3.4 million square metres. Licensed areas rose in every month of 2026 except May, the same month trading hit its softest print. Foreign apartment demand can keep existing stock turning over. It does not automatically put new floor plates in the ground.

Foreign Plots Outside Zoning Now Cap at 10 Dunums

Parliament moved in parallel with the tape. The Lower House on 3 August approved 20 articles of the 2026 Real Estate Ownership Law amendment, including amendments on foreign residential land outside zoning. Abdul-Moneim Odat, minister of state for political and parliamentary affairs, told lawmakers the change lets non-Jordanians own land outside planning boundaries for private housing only, with a maximum of 10 dunums, and that border, archaeological, and historical areas stay off limits.

Walid Masri, minister of local administration, said earlier rules blocked foreigners from owning standalone homes in some gated communities outside organised areas, so buyers who wanted larger rural plots had to seek Cabinet exemptions that could run to 100 or 200 dunums. The 10-dunum cap, he said, is meant to stop oversized land grabs while still letting families build a house and farm the ground around it. The amended Real Property Ownership Law No. 17 of 2026 was issued in September and was set to take effect 30 days after publication.

WHAT THE AMENDMENT CHANGES FOR FOREIGN BUYERS

• The new route: Non-Jordanians may own land outside zoning for private housing, capped at 10 dunums, with finance-minister approval on a Lands and Survey recommendation.
• The old workaround: Larger rural plots often needed a Cabinet exemption, sometimes for 100 or 200 dunums.
• The hard no: Foreign ownership in border, archaeological, and historical areas remains banned.

If the point of the law is to pull some foreign money out of Amman apartments and onto provincial land, the 2026 tape has not shown that shift yet. Through August, 953 of the 1,515 foreign transactions were apartments, and Iraqi capital still dominated the value column. The May 5% drop was a local-and-land story. The buyers who kept showing up were shopping for flats, and they were, more than anyone else, Iraqi.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Much Are Jordan Property Transfer Fees?

Ordinary sales between unrelated parties generally carry a 3% registration fee plus a 3% property-sale tax, together 6% of the administrative value set by the Department of Lands and Survey, which can differ from the contract price. Sales between specified relatives or co-owners can be charged 0.5%, and some apartment transfers are charged less than the full land rate, which is one reason department cash held up better than unit sales in early 2026.

Can Non-Jordanians Buy Land in Jordan?

Yes, subject to approvals, and the 2026 amendment adds a capped path for private housing on land outside planning zones at a maximum of 10 dunums. Border, archaeological, and historical land stays closed to foreign ownership, and purchases still run through the finance minister on a Lands and Survey recommendation rather than as an open retail market.

Which Nationalities Buy the Most Jordanian Property?

Iraqi nationals led non-Jordanian buyers in 2025 as well, with 542 properties valued at about JD77.7 million, or 37% of that year’s foreign purchase value of about JD210 million, ahead of Saudi (382) and Syrian (237) buyers, on 2,447 foreign transactions, down 13% from 2024. The 2026 ranking through August kept Iraq first, then Saudi Arabia, Syria, Palestine, and the United States.

How Is the Jordanian Dinar Pegged?

The Central Bank of Jordan quotes the dollar in a tight band around 708 to 710 fils, or about JD0.709 per US dollar, which is about $1.41 per dinar, and that rate has been unchanged on a 12-month view. Large property totals in dinars therefore move one-for-one in dollar terms, which is part of the appeal for regional buyers who want a currency that does not float against the dollar.

What Does the Department of Lands and Survey Publish Each Month?

The monthly trading report covers volume, unit sales of apartments and land, department fee and tax take, properties sold to companies, and non-Jordanian ownership by count and estimated value, and the department also posts a separate property-indicator series and administrative-value tools for parcels and apartments. Ahmad Al-Ammoush, the department’s director, has also described a “Smart Plan” map that shows administrative values and parcel boundaries, plus a digital market-analysis platform built around 42 indicators.

Disclaimer: This article is news reporting and analysis of published Department of Lands and Survey and Department of Statistics figures, and it is for information only. It is not investment advice, a property valuation, legal advice on ownership rules, or a recommendation to buy or sell any apartment, plot, or related security. Readers considering a purchase, sale, or transfer in Jordan should consult a licensed Jordanian lawyer and a registered real-estate appraiser, and foreign buyers should also confirm current approval rules with the Department of Lands and Survey before acting. Volumes, fees, and legal caps are those stated in the cited official prints and may be revised in later monthly reports or by further legislation.