Property sales to foreigners in Turkey are strong, reaching record levels
Continuing its rapid growth, the Turkish real estate market experienced the best May in the history of real estate sales to foreigners across the country. Moreover, the market achieved record sales to foreign buyers in every month since the beginning of the year.
Sales to foreign buyers jumped 62.5 percent to 3,925 units last month, compared to 2,415 units in May 2018. As for the period from January to May, purchases by foreign residents increased significantly from 9756 to 17,263, an increase of 77 percent. This was reported by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) on Monday.
On the other hand, total home sales in Turkey fell 31.3 percent year-on-year in May to about 82,252 units.
Sector representatives say that incentives and legislative amendments introduced particularly for foreigners continue to contribute, stressing that the upward trend in sales to foreign investors has continued despite the negative and tensions at the international and regional level.
Previously, foreigners purchased 3,168 units in January, 3,321 units in February, 3,129 units in March and 3,720 units in April, up 81.9%, 92.1%, 71.3% and 82.1% respectively from last year. All four months were record highs.
The national statistics office said the country’s most populous city, Istanbul, is still the top choice for foreign buyers. Residential real estate sales to foreigners in the city rose 103 percent year on year last month to 1,734, up from 854 last May.
As in recent times, Istanbul was followed by the resort city of Antalya, where foreigners bought about 850 homes in May. It was followed by the capital Ankara with 216, Bursa with 187, Yalova with 136 and Mugla with 109 units sold.
This ranking has not changed much between January and May: Istanbul was still the top choice with 7,894 homes, followed by Antalya with 3,425, Ankara with 977, Bursa with 878, Yalova with 688 and Sakarya with 520 homes sold.
IRAQI CITIZENS RANK FIRST
On the other hand, when it comes to citizenship, Iraqi citizens continue to top the list of foreign buyers.
After purchasing 407 residential properties last May, Iraqi citizens are the new owners of 594 homes this May. Iraq is followed by Iran with 509 units, Russians with 285 units, Afghanistan with 183 units, Saudi Arabia with 157 units and Germans with 155 units.
Libya saw the biggest increase in property purchases last month; Libyan property sales jumped 493 percent from the same month last year, followed by Yemen with 198 percent, the U.S. with 162 percent and Egypt with a 161 percent year-over-year increase.
As for the first five months, Iraqi citizens bought a total of 2,908 homes, followed by Iranians with 1,787 units, Russians with 1,074 units, Saudis with 992 units, Afghans with 879 units and Kuwaitis with 757 units.
SALES CONTINUE INTO THE SUMMER PERIOD
Assessing the latest data, Nazmi Durbakaim, chairman of the Istanbul Contractors Association (İNDER), said tensions between the U.S. and some Persian Gulf countries, especially Iran, have prompted wealthy citizens of those countries to turn to safe countries.
Durbakaim told Anadolu Agency (AA) that this situation has been ongoing for the past five to six years; however, the incentives and benefits imposed on foreigners in Turkey have accelerated this trend for the country.
“We knew that a new record was expected in 2019 in terms of purchases abroad. Sales abroad in recent months have confirmed this expectation,” he said, stressing that they expect these sales, which indicate the sale of 50,000 properties and the inflow of foreign currency. nearly $10 billion by the end of 2019, will continue into the summer.
Property sales to foreigners in Turkey are strong, reaching record levels
