Boom Before the Bombs: American ordnance may soon rain over Iraq. But prices for homes and land are going nowhere but up these days.

Publication: Newsweek

Publication Date: 24-FEB-03

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Byline: Melinda Liu

Mahmoud Yassin never thought of himself as a real-estate speculator. But 11 years ago the Baghdad hardware dealer couldn't resist the low prices for property in Karbala. Thousands of inhabitants had fled the city during Desert Storm, and even more had surged out during the subsequent anti-regime revolt and the merciless government crackdown that followed. Yassin (a pseudonym) bought three houses cheap. Two weeks ago he sold one, a spacious bungalow with a garden, for 12 million Iraqi dinars ($5,000)--more...

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