Not long ago the real estate market in Turkey wasn’t performing that well as expected, but towards the end of the summer months and once the economy started picking up again, property sales followed the same path. Moreover, the greatest number of sales was attributed to foreign citizens moving to Turkey or simply purchasing vacation homes. If you want to buy a property, our law firm in Turkey can assist with the sale-purchase agreement.

Property sales to foreigners rose by 11.4% on an annual basis

According to the Turkish Statistics Office (TUIK), the real estate market is once again one of the best performing industries in Turkey, as the number of properties sales sold to foreign citizens rose by 11.4% on a year-to-year basis, representing 1,684 units. In August alone, this number rose by 6.3%. Most of the houses purchased were acquired through mortgages, their number rising to 38,743.

August 2017 was also better than the same month of last year, as house sales rose by 4.7%, meaning 120,198 properties.

July was another good month, with respect to the sale to foreign citizens, as these sales rose by 65.3% compared to July 2016. Foreign citizens bought 1,726 houses in Turkey in July.

Our Turkish lawyers recommend foreign citizens to ask for real estate due diligence processes before purchasing a house or apartment.

Who bought properties in Turkey this year?

August brought an increasing number of Iraqis, Saudi Arabians, Kuwaitis, Afghans, but also Russians buying real estate in Turkey. Iraqis purchased 317 houses, Saudi Arabians bought 189 units, Kuwaitis 135 houses, Russians 95 houses and apartments, while Afghans purchased 81 units.

With respect to the areas in which most properties were bought, Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir were the top 3 locations preferred by foreigners. 15.6% of the buyers were recorded in Istanbul, with 18,696 properties, followed by Ankara with 12,630 units, and Izmir with 6,838 units. At the other end of the top, the weakest sales were registered in Hakkari and Ardahan.

If you want to set up a construction business in Turkey, please feel free to contact us. You can rely on our lawyers in Turkey for assistance with the sale-purchase agreements when selling or buying a property.