In Turkey, in addition to high housing prices (which continue to grow rapidly), the shortage of residential real estate supply is becoming more and more pronounced. The Turkish Institute of Statistics TÜIK reported that the number of residences, the construction of which began in the first quarter of the year, decreased by 9.2%. In the context of three years, in January-March 2023, licenses were issued for the construction of 33,597 buildings; in January-March 2022 - by 26,141, and in the first quarter of 2023 - by only 23,743.
Let's clarify that this is the lowest figure recorded since the beginning of the pandemic.
Melih Tavukcuoglu, President of the Anatolian Association of House Builders, noted that this decrease is a direct consequence of the increase in construction costs: "The stagnation of the market due to the earthquake also takes place, but costs are the main factor: 1 cubic meter of concrete, which last year cost 800 Turkish lira, now costs 2,000 lira". Mr. Tavukcuoglu stressed that it has become very difficult for developers to produce and sell houses, and potential buyers from among local residents have almost lost the opportunity to buy their own housing.
In addition, due to the decrease in the number of licenses, as market players clarify, every now and then we have to face an "unforeseen increase in the cost of housing". The president of MasterTürk, Gokhan Tash, also expressed his point of view, explaining that the decline in the volume of future housing, for the construction of which all the necessary documents have been received, far exceeds reasonable indicators for this area, and "...thus, the housing supply situation is at a risky level."
Experts expressed hope that the government will take a more active part in solving the housing problem that has arisen, and that some progress in this direction will be noticeable by about autumn.
Meanwhile, the Istanbul municipality continues to decide the fate of empty apartments in the metropolis of apartments that their owners do not use for living, do not rent and do not plan to sell either.