A wave of Russian “settlers” in Turkey was marked in the beach country by a massive purchase of real estate. The Turkish Statistical Office (TÜIK) published sales statistics from the beginning of the year to October 2022: Russians took first place in home purchases, they purchased 2.23 thousand houses.
According to a survey conducted by TÜIK, home sales to foreigners increased by 26.9% in the first 10 months of 2022 compared to the same period last year and amounted to 55.021 units. The Russians were the most active in buying Turkish real estate, they took first place in terms of purchases. In second place is Iran (498 houses), in third is Iraq (310 houses), in fourth place is Ukraine (216 houses), Germany (211 houses) rounded out the top five.
The most popular among foreigners was the Mediterranean Antalya province (2.123 houses sold). Of the 6,323 houses for sale there, every third house was bought by a foreigner. Antalya was followed by Istanbul (1,658 units) and Mersin (490). Thus, the share of sales to foreigners in the total sales amounted to 33.57%.
Demand dynamics
January was the quietest month for buying from Russians. Then they purchased only 479 housing units. In February – 509. A sharp rise in purchases occurred after the start of the conflict in Ukraine. Sales jumped to 547 in March, 1.152 in April, 1.275 in May and 1.887 in June. In July there was a small drawdown – 1.028 houses were sold, in August – 1.238 and in September – 1.196. Demand exploded in October.
Rising prices
The boom in foreign demand for housing has boosted Turkish property prices dramatically. This situation was reflected in the report of the Center for Economic and Social Research of Bahcesehir University (BETAM) on the outlook for the housing market for sale in October.
The provinces with the fastest growth in prices per square meter of housing were the following three:
- Mediterranean city of Mersin (231.2%)
- Antalya (223.5%)
- Istanbul, the cultural capital (218.1%)
For comparison: the average price per square meter in the resort province of Antalya, popular among Russians, was about 18 thousand rubles in October last year, while this year it has more than tripled and reached 58 thousand rubles. In other words, the average price of a 100-meter apartment is 5.58 million rubles.
Purchasing a home in exchange for Turkish citizenship
Under regulations adopted in recent years, foreigners have been allowed to claim Turkish citizenship by purchasing a home above a certain value. In June, the value of real estate, which had to be taken into account when applying for Turkish citizenship, increased from $250,000 to $400,000 (from 15 million to 24.2 million rubles). Experts have linked the tightening of conditions with the need to regulate visitors and high inflation.
The depreciation of the Turkish lira and the practice of granting citizenship to foreigners in exchange for buying real estate increase the number of foreign property purchases in Turkey, and also affect the rise in prices in Turkey. Despite the fact that foreign demand is known to increase property prices in Turkey, and this makes it difficult for Turkish citizens to access housing, locals state that the government continues to stimulate foreign purchases, which is extremely dissatisfied.
Earlier, Turprom wrote that “In Turkey, they will be engaged in a total check of Russians who have “come in large numbers” to the resorts.”
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