The earlier proposal to transform unclaimed offices into apartments, aimed at mitigating the housing crisis, did not receive adequate support, Turkish media write.
Recall that in the summer of 2022, the topic of the fact that empty office spaces can be turned into housing was actively discussed. At least for rent – for students, civil servants, etc. At that time, about 50,000 offices were supposed to be transformed, 10,000 of them in Istanbul, especially suffering from a shortage of available rental lots.
However, the expected demand for such a product did not follow. Moreover, it turned out that a maximum of 20,000 of these office spaces meet the necessary requirements.
So, the implementation of the idea was postponed (as well as the publication of the relevant resolution) until better times.
In addition, the office segment does not suffer much from a lack of demand at the moment: Murat Ergin, chairman of the Board of the Kuzeybatı Real Estate company, stressed that offices are in demand now, and prices for successful lots are high; «... there is interest even in offices that we thought would not be in demand. However, companies are returning staff from remote locations to their offices». And the shortage of high-quality offices, Mr. Ergin said, in Istanbul will last at least until the opening of the new Finan Center. Recall that this building will house almost 90% of the new office space of the metropolis, and it will also become the tallest in Europe.
As a conclusion, the specialist stressed that «the office market is coming to life».
TSKB Real Estate Appraisal also confirmed that demand for offices has increased, especially since September; investors are increasingly paying attention to commercial real estate, not just residential. Partly also because the cost of offices is sometimes more affordable than residential residences.
Earlier we wrote that the number of retail and office space in Turkey is growing.