There was no doubt that Antalya in general and the resort town of Alanya in particular are in great demand among foreigners, especially in recent years, but the latest statistics on the demand for real estate in Turkey have showed unprecedented figures.
Content:
- Alanya is a favourite among foreigners
- Alanya is the driving force of the residential real estate market and the region’s economy
- The ratio of housing sales to foreigners in Antalya to the total number of housing sales to overseas investors in Turkey
- Data on housing sales, Alanya
- "Alanya will not exist without foreigners"
- Antalya ranks third in sales and first in global demand
Alanya is a favourite among foreigners
The Emlakhaberajansi portal refers to Gülçin Demirbaş, an expert of one of the leading Turkish real estate appraisal companies EVA (EVA Gayrimenkul Değerleme), that Alanya has not only taken but also retains the top position in housing sales to foreigners.
In 2023, standard 100 m2 apartments in new development projects in Turkey were sold for 5–6 million Turkish lira (TL). Over the past three years, real estate price growth has risen from +750% to +850%. The rent has risen by about 600%. However, this situation may lead to a decrease in the growth of rental rates, as many foreigners did not renew their residence permit and left the country. Thus, there are many vacant residences on the rental market.
Gülçin Demirbaş explains that most of the foreigners living in Alanya are citizens of the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Iran, Iraq, and Germany: these are the top 5 countries, whose citizens have chosen Alanya as their "second home." Therefore, the economic contribution of overseas investors to this area is quite significant. The expert stresses that it is also important that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has increased the total population of Alanya by about 20–25%. Visitors and locals have created a successful symbiotic relationship, as the district’s economy is based on tourism. "On the other hand, after the earthquake on February 6, there was some stagnation in sales, and the effect of this stagnation persists to this day," EVA believes.
Alanya is the driving force of the residential real estate market and the region’s economy
Anyway, Alanya has become the driver of the property market of the entire coast. Gülçin Demirbaş clarifies: "Although real estate projects are underway in the district, it is clear that most of the completed buildings are intended for foreigners." EVA experts predict that investments in real estate and education (own and children's — editors’ note) of citizens of other countries living in Alanya will grow rapidly. Immigrants’ accommodation expenses, medical care, education, food, clothing, leisure, entertainment, etc., will continue to strengthen the district’s economy, including by creating new jobs.
In addition, foreigners start their businesses not limited to living and purchasing apartments in developments projects in Turkey. They buy office space and create their companies and make this area much more popular presenting Alanya to their friends, relatives, colleagues, and other compatriots as a great place to move and live by the sea.
On the one hand, according to EVA experts, it is necessary to be careful and not allow the largest number of foreigners to move to the country not to displace locals. However, this situation is regulated by law: as soon as the number of citizens of other countries with a residence permit in the regions of Turkey exceeds 20–25%, the authorities stop issuing residence permits. First, this applies to tourist ones. Second, the territory is closed for obtaining a residence permit, even by right of ownership. This is what we have seen over the past year: the most popular tourist destinations in Alanya (Kargicak, Mahmutlar, Kestel, and Avsallar) have been closed to foreigners since July 1, 2022. Tourists can come here during the visa-free period and for some reasons not related to renting and buying real estate (marriage, education, treatment, and surety).
For this reason, a certain percentage of foreign nationals who rented apartments and were in Alanya on tourist residence permits had to leave the resort. This may reduce inflated rental prices: "These popular places, favoured by tourists from different countries who pay high prices for rental housing, are the main drivers for the increase in rental prices in the region. We expect the authorities to pay attention to these regions chosen by foreigners," the EVA expert explains.
Such measures are aimed at regulating rental rates and classifying some rented residential premises as "social". The authorities can also compensate part of the rent for guests with Turkish citizenship. Foreigners will not be disadvantaged by such decisions.
Let’s take a closer look at the statistics. The first table shows the figures for Antalya, and the second one shows the figures for Alanya.
The ratio of housing sales to foreigners in Antalya to the total number of housing sales to overseas investors in Turkey
| Year | Number of housing units sold to foreigners in Antalya | ОTotal number of housing units purchased by foreigners |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 7938 | 40 044 |
| 2019 | 8951 | 45 967 |
| 2020 | 7735 | 41 298 |
| 2021 | 12 384 | 59 282 |
| 2022 | 21 860 | 68 210 |
| 2023 (first 4 months, January – April) | 5201 | 13 596 |
Data on housing sales, Alanya
| Year | Total sales | Mortgage transactions | Other transaction categories | Primary real estate (new buildings) | Secondary real estate (resale) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 12 422 | 1160 | 11 262 | 3433 | 8989 |
| 2019 | 13 012 | 1286 | 11 726 | 3295 | 9717 |
| 2020 | 11 972 | 1632 | 10 340 | 3451 | 8521 |
| 2021 | 15 312 | 901 | 14 411 | 4680 | 10 632 |
| 2022 | 26 193 | 625 | 25 568 | 9667 | 16 526 |
"Alanya will not exist without foreigners"
Here are some more figures from Q1 2023 statistics. According to the results of February, when the earthquake with the epicentre in Kahramanmaraş caused a sharp decline in sales, representatives of the real estate sector said: "If there are no foreigners (buyers — editors’ note), Alanya will not exist." After all, the total number of sales in February across Turkey decreased by 18%.
Despite the negative forecasts, Antalya ranked first in housing sales to foreigners in February with 1,261 transactions, ahead of Istanbul with 1,133 deals.
In March, when the issue of restricting or prohibiting the sale of real estate to overseas citizens was in the spotlight, the situation was also quite unstable. There was a significant decrease in the number of housing transactions with foreign nationals.
Kerim Baliktai, President of the Association of Real Estate Brokers of Alanya (ALEKOD), said that the ban on the sale of housing to foreigners would have a huge impact on the economy of the country in general and Alanya in particular.
The specialist also said that citizens of other countries had been buying real estate in Alanya and across Turkey for years, and prices in euros were growing moderately: "Rising construction prices are the main reason for the increase in housing prices. If we attribute the rise in rental prices to foreigners and forbid them to purchase apartments in Turkey, we will deal a big blow to Alanya and the country as a whole. To make tourism popular all year round and provide the country's economy with a large amount of foreign currency, we need to make more efforts to support the sale of apartments and houses in Turkey to overseas citizens," the expert explained.
Let's briefly consider Antalya’s indicators, an important part of which is the resort of Alanya.
Antalya ranks third in sales and first in global demand
As of the end of May 2023, Antalya entered the top 3 leading provinces in sales of residential real estate in Turkey after Istanbul and Ankara. During the month, 18,435 transactions were concluded in Istanbul (16.3% of the total number of transactions in the country), and 11,196 deals (9.9%) were made in Ankara. Finally, 6,158 sales were made in Antalya, and their share was 5.4%.
Meanwhile, Antalya ranks first in sales of residences to foreigners: 1,245 transactions per month. It is followed by Istanbul with 934 sales and Mersin with 249 transactions.