Turkey intends to ban Russians from making the most expensive purchases – real estate, especially in popular resorts. At least, according to Turkish media reports, this issue was on the agenda after the introduction of a similar ban in Canada on the sale of housing to foreigners. There it was justified by the fact that foreigners raise prices excessively. “Similar practices should be introduced in Turkey,” say local economic experts.
Consumer associations and some representatives of the housing sector support them, saying that the ban on the sale of housing to foreigners will reduce housing prices and rents to affordable levels. On the other hand, some representatives of the sector, perhaps benefiting from the inflated demand from Russian “relocators”, oppose this, assuring that in this way Turkey will lose $10-15 billion of inflow into the economy.
According to 2022 data, the share of home sales to foreigners in Turkey in total home sales is about 5%, however, this “average number” is unevenly distributed. In Antalya and parts of Istanbul such as Kadikoy, Besiktas and Esenyurt, sales to foreigners account for 10-15% of total home sales. Not surprisingly, the construction business is on the side against the ban. The general manager of Mars Investment, engaged in luxury real estate, Hakan Budjak said the following: “If the Canadian model is implemented in our country, there may be a decrease in sales of branded housing projects. This means the end of the annual inflow of foreign exchange in the amount of 10-15 billion dollars.”
He was opposed by the general manager of Eva Real Estate, Cansel Turgut Yazici, who said that Turkey needs measures to ban sales to foreigners for a certain period of time — Canada introduced this ban for two years, and this, in his opinion, is “an exemplary move.” “We need to take a break, and the closure of megacities and border areas such as Antalya and Istanbul is important. Because and foreigners are starting to dominate, which disrupts the demographic structure of the city.”
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