Dr. Fadi Israwi, the dean of the department of Business Administration at Haigazian University, said that among the factors that are driving up property prices is the repatriation of Lebanese expatriates, especially those living in the Gulf countries. Israwi was addressing a conference on real-estate that was held today, Friday, at Haigazian. Speaking at the same event, Makram Bu Nassar, of the Central Bank, reaffirmed the commitment of the Central Bank to maintain a stable rate of exchange and interest rates; while Philippe Al Hajj, the head of retail banking at Fransabank, said that operations related to real-estate at Fransabank have increased by 30 percent in the past decade. He said that prices at the Ashrafieh area of Beirut have increased by 32 percent between 2009 and 2010.