Tunisia has had housing as an integral sector for public investment and provision since gaining independence in the mid-twentieth century. A series of loans from both the World Bank and the United States Agency for International Development from the 1960s through the early 1990s targeted urban development programs, often with housing components. However, these kinds of investments from large development finance institutions (DFIs) for affordable housing in Tunisia have dwindled since the 1990s. Most DFI-backed loans and programs have been geared toward fiscal responsibility, institutional strengthening, and the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Key reforms in Tunisia have occurred recently, giving hope that a more robust economy and greater access to markets for investors are possible. Some key reforms include “adoption of the Competition Law, the PPP (public private partnership) law, as well as the new Investment Code, which came into effect in April 2017. n July 2018, “the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the third review of Tunisia’s economic programme supported by an arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).” According to a press release, the government of Tunisia has made progress in “strengthening the recovery” since the revolution in accordance with the agreement with a focus on “growth-friendly and socially conscious reforms aimed at stabilizing public debt while raising investment and social spending.”  The real estate sector, despite certain restrictions for investments, was already attracting foreign interest before the revolution.

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