AKRE, Kurdistan Region - Property prices in Akre's Justa neighborhood in Duhok province have risen following an initiative by a group of volunteers to decorate the street's walls with flowers, the town's municipality told Rudaw, adding that residents of the neighborhood are now demanding more money to sell their properties than before.

Bozhin Group, which consists of seven people, has been working as volunteers for a month to paint and decorate a street in the Justa neighborhood of Akre. Their work has led to an increase in the prices of properties in the neighborhood.

The neighborhood's houses previously used to have signs which said that they are for sale, but the revitalization of the area has led landlords to refuse to sell their property as the area has turned into a touristic attraction.

"Our work has led to an increase in the prices of houses in this neighborhood which has attracted the attention of tourists, which has now made the residents of the area reluctant to sell their houses," Bozhin Group member Basheer Ahmed said.

Akre municipality spokesperson Zeravan Kamo thanked the volunteers who carried out the revitalization and coloring of the neighborhood.

"We support and provide assistance to any person who is able to renovate Akre's neighborhoods. This group has managed to attract the attention of tourists with the work they did and therefore has raised the prices of houses in comparison to previous months," Kamo said.

Forty houses have so far been renovated in Akre, according to the spokesperson, who stated that whoever renovates his house while maintaining its traditional identity will be provided 150,000 IQD per square meter by the government.

Justa neighborhood is one of Akre's oldest neighborhoods and was previously inhabited by Jews before their exodus to Israel beginning in the 1950s. 

Photos: Bilind T. Abdullah