Under the USAID/CAR Financial Sector Initiative (Contract No. 115-C-00-00-00017), Stewart prepared, with The Pragma Corporation, an assessment of the current real estate registration system and the real estate market in the Republic of Kazakhstan. In addition to analyzing the current situation and conditions pertaining to real property registration, this assessment identified the requirements for introducing a private title insurance industry for residential housing in Kazakhstan. The tasks included:

• Evaluating and reporting on the current property registration system, based on a regional sample of conditions in the cities and towns of Almaty, Astana, Atyrau, Pavlodar, Kokshetau, Koktal, and Sharbakty
• Making recommendations for changes and conditions necessary to facilitate further real estate market development and the establishment of a title insurance industry

The team also met with local insurers, bankers, notaries, registrars and other professionals involved in real estate to describe the risks/rewards of title insurance as a product, focusing on detached single-family houses and private apartments located in urban areas.