The housing fracture in Tunisia continues to deepen, transforming a market historically driven by social need into an investment asset reserved for the wealthiest.
The Arab Institute of Business Leaders’ recent note, titled “Housing Policy in Tunisia and Difficulties in Accessing Housing by the Middle Classes,” highlights a reality now structural: even households belonging to the upper middle class, with monthly incomes between 3,000 and 4,000 dinars, are progressively excluded from home ownership. The cause is a deep disconnect between real estate prices, incomes, and financing conditions.
Inflation Growing Faster Than Incomes
Over the past years, housing prices have risen steadily, fueled by the surge in material costs, the scarcity of urbanizable land in attractive areas, and increased investment demand. In the major urban areas such as Tunis, Sfax, or Sousse, the price per square meter in sought-after neighborhoods frequently exceeds 3,500 to 4,500 dinars, compared with less than 2,000 dinars a decade earlier.
In the same context, household incomes have grown at a much slower pace. According to the latest available estimates, the average salary in the formal sector is around 1,200 to 1,500 dinars per month, while the upper middle class caps at around 4,000 dinars. This relative stagnation in purchasing power, combined with still-high overall inflation, has reduced saving capacity and thus the initial down payment required for the purchase of a home.
The Financing Shock
The decisive factor behind this exclusion remains the tightening of financing conditions. Driven by inflation, bank interest rates have crossed critical thresholds, averaging 10.52% according to the IACE study. At these levels, the total cost of credit becomes prohibitive for a large portion of households.
