House prices in Turkey
House prices in Turkey
Turkey Property Guide
The foreign demand in Turkish properties has significantly increased in the last 2 years, and there are multiple reasons for that, including softened property prices (due to the lira fall against the dollar) and decreased price of the Golden Visa Program (which makes $250,000 now). Buyers from different countries head to Turkey to invest into real estate, to move there or to get a holiday home that will be available throughout the year. The most popular cities among foreigners to buy home are Istanbul (44,3% share of foreigners investing into real estate) and Antalya (21,2% share). According to Turkstat, 4,192 properties were sold to foreigners in July 2019. In comparison to the same period of the last year we see an increase in 46,7%. The champion is Istanbul with 1,903 sales, followed by Ankara and Bursa with 249 and 217 sales accordingly.
Commenting on the Real Estate Data of TURKSTAT in July, Aylin Daylan, chairman of the Endeksa.com Marketing and Sales Group, stated that overall property sales in July 2019 increased by 66,6% in comparison to June and decreased by 17,5% compared to July 2018. But now we see that it doesn’t affect interest in Turkish real estate from non-residents. He adds that they expect to see growing numbers in property sales until the end of 2019, taking into account reduced interest rate.
Most popular cities to buy property in Turkey
How much is it to buy property in Turkey?
How much is it to buy property in Turkey?Cities with the highest price per square meter are Muğla, İstanbul, İzmir, Çanakkale and Balıkesir respectively (Endeksa.com report). The average sales price per square meter in Muğla is €746, and the return period of the real estate investment is 24 years. Istanbul is following Muğla with €703 per square meter, the average return on investment period of 19 years. The average sales price per square meter in İzmir is €477 and the return period is 20 years. Average price throughout Turkey has set at €399 per square meter, the decrease of 3,8% has been seen since the last year.
| City | Average price for a 100 sqm property (€) |
|---|---|
| Muğla | 74,600 |
| Istanbul | 63,205 |
| Izmir | 47,700 |
| Aydin | 41,295 |
| Bursa | 41,150 |
| Antalya | 35,019 |
So if you consider Istanbul as a point of investment, you will be able to buy an apartment (100 sq m) for €63,00,-70,000; certain bargains of course can be found in its suburbs or new development areas next to The Istanbul New Airport for example. According to the Turkish Land Registry and Cadastry Germans have bought the majority of real estate in Istanbul (5,146 properties), among other nationalities it’s Brits (789), Greeks (3,656), Austrians (691) and Italians (427).
Of course, this is a market average, and you can find cheaper properties as well as luxurious ones. It shows an overview of the prices within the market, and if you find a property worth €70,000 in Muğla, you shouldn’t be surprised and can try to search for cheaper options to save your money. But in Aydin this price will be too high for a property to invest into.
What about rental prices in Turkey?
When investing into a property it’s always logical to see how much you can gain by letting it for rent. And that’s a topic that should be carefully researched when it comes to Turkey. In Turkey you can select properties located on the holiday resorts or in cities where locals and expats are living, working and studying. It means the rental activity will be quite different. E.g. in Bodrum you will rent it out easily in summer time, but face rental vacations in winter. In the cities like Istanbul or Ankara it’s quite opposite, according to Zingat.com neighborhoods around schools and universities show the highest rental demand from students and families with children. In report done by Gyoder we see that 28% respondents (out of 5,000 from different districts of Istanbul) do not own a property and rent it, the majority of respondents is between 35-54 years.
| City | Average rental price for a 100 sqm apartment (€) |
|---|---|
| Istanbul | 264 |
| Izmir | 222 |
| Intellectual | 219 |
| Ankara | 135 |
| Bursa | 135 |
| Antalya | 132 |
Be wise and do not rush with property purchase
As you can see property choice in Turkey will highly depend on the goal. E.g. investors should decide which destination to head to – busy cities or coastal towns, each of them has advantages – regular income from all year long rentals or summer rent-roll with opportunity to spend your own vacations in the property. Those who move to Turkey should first select the lifestyle and connection to expat communities if required.
House prices in Turkey are still very competitive in comparison to other countries like Spain or Portugal, but since international demand for Turkish properties is growing you might face unexpectedly high prices – there will be always locals who want to earn more from “know nothing” foreigner. Thus, you need someone who could help you in the process to advise on market peculiarities and ways to negotiate both the price and conditions. And of course, you need someone who speaks Turkish, it is really a must for anyone who is going to buy property in Turkey.
As always, check property offers from multiple agencies, compare their prices, all additional fees and conditions and make the right choice. For the moment it’s one of the few markets with high potential far from real estate stagnancy and crisis.