ANKARA: FIVE STRONG REASONS TO BUY A HOUSE

CONTENT:

• Introduction
• About the city. Geography and climate
• Politics, economics, finance
• Science, education, medicine
• Culture
• Transport
• Pros and cons to live in Ankara
• Specifics of different areas
• Average indicators for housing in general
• District rating
• Average figures considering layout
• Average figures by district

INTRODUCTION

Although Ankara is neither a seaside city nor a historical center with a long history, it can nevertheless be interesting for investment in residential real estate. Let us find out more about the city, its advantages and pricing specifics.

ABOUT THE CITY. GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

Ankara is the capital of the Republic of Turkey (not Istanbul, as many still mistakenly believe). It is a multi-million-dollar metropolis, one of the three largest cities in the country; economic, political and cultural center, as well as a convenient transport hub.

Ankara is located in the mainland of Turkey, in Central Anatolia, at an altitude of about 900 m above sea level. It has no outlet to the sea itself. The climate is continental. In some months, the weather coincides with that which is customary for residents of the European part of Russia - Ankara is located in that part of Turkey where snow often falls in winter, but part of the year is much warmer. So, in winter, the temperature can stay around +10 degrees, in summer - rise to +35. Although there are frosts down to -15 degrees.

It is about 400 km to the Black Sea from Ankara, to the Mediterranean - about 500 km. It is not difficult to get to the resorts by intercity buses, which run several times per day, or, if you wish, by plane.

Ankara includes 25 districts (ilçe), 16 of which are directly within the city:

1. Akyurt
2. Altındağ
3. Ayaş
4. Balâ
5. Beypazarı
6. Çamlıdere
7. Çankaya
8. Çubuk
9. Elmadağ
10. Etimesgut
11. Evren
12. Gölbaşı
13. Güdül
14. Haymana
15. Kalecik
16. Kazan
17. Keçiören
18. Kızılcahamam
19. Mamak
20. Nallıhan
21. Polatlı
22. Pursaklar
23. Sincan
24. Yenimahalle
25. Şereflikoçhisar

According to the latest correspondence, population is 5 639 076 people.

POLITICS, ECONOMY, FINANCE

Ankara is the second most important economic center after Istanbul. There are many industrial facilities in the city and nearby, the bulk of production is concentrated in specially designated industrial zones; there are many factories. Many people are employed in manufacturing, mechanical engineering, food, medical, furniture, textiles production, in agriculture, etc. Medium and small firms and enterprises are in abundance. Mechanical engineering is one of the key areas: it is the profile of up to 40% of companies in the capital and surrounding area.

In addition, Ankara is the second largest financial and credit center in Turkey after Istanbul. Well, do not forget that it is here that embassies, consulates and other state institutions are located.

SCIENCE, EDUCATION, MEDICINE

Ankara has several universities, including multidisciplinary ones, and dozens - if not hundreds - of primary, secondary, vocational schools and colleges (public and private). Much attention is paid to science, research institutes are based mainly on the territory of universities.

Hacettepe University is very famous (it trains general practitioners and medical staff), as well as the clinic attached to it. Hacettepe is a kind of conglomerate of knowledge: this includes not only educational units, but also treatment and diagnostic centers including experimental and forensic medicine, physiology, embryology, pediatrics, nuclear physics and chemistry, surgery, anesthesiology, oncology, psychiatry, clinical pathology, pharmacology. By the way, the Hacettepe clinic is famous not only throughout Turkey, but also abroad.

There are a lot of other hospitals in Ankara, of course, as well. There are at least a thousand pharmacies scattered throughout the city. Recently, with the growing demand, doctors and other medical professionals who speak Russian have appeared. Almost every self-respecting clinic cooperates with a translator from Russia.

CULTURE

There are dozens of interesting museums in Ankara, including mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The city is famous for the richest National Library; it has hundreds of publishing houses, dozens of cinemas, 8 state theaters (including Ankara Opera House,Small theatre, Chamber theatre) and 21 private theaters. There are many publishing houses of key publications. Cultural life and organized leisure activities are in full swing.

There are hundreds of courses and clubs for every taste, from sports and language to crafts, calligraphy and ebru. Moreover, there is an opportunity to attend a number of courses free of charge for permanent residents of Ankara - as, indeed, in other Turkish cities: this right is provided with a residence permit.

TRANSPORT

Ankara is a convenient transport hub as it is located close to the territorial center of the country. You can get to Istanbul, Izmir, Balikesir (in the west), Isparta and Burdur (in the south-west), Zonguldak (in the north), Adana (in the south), Diyarbakir (in the east) from Ankara by train. In addition, high-speed trains run to Istanbul, Konya and Eskişehir.

There is a large bus station Aşti: intercity buses deliver passengers to dozens of cities from there both inside the country and abroad. This service is provided by more than a hundred bus companies.

It is convenient to get to Cappadocia or Konya by transit through Ankara.

The capital also has its own airport, Esenboğa, located less than 30 km to the north. It is international and accepts flights from many countries, not just domestic ones. By the way, there is a direct flight of Turkish Airlines on the Moscow-Ankara route; the number of flights per week is adjusted according to the load.

As for urban transport, there are underground, buses and a cable car in Ankara. The authorities are actively investing in making the city even more convenient both for local residents and tourists: they are developing pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure.

PROS AND CONS TO LIVE IN ANKARA

There are many advantages of buying real estate in the Turkish capital, but there are also some disadvantages. First, we will list all this briefly, then we will dwell on the advantages in more detail.

Well, there are five key benefits:

• Accommodation is cheaper here than in Istanbul and in resorts
• Transport opportunities make it easy to get from Russia and back, as well as travel around the country and abroad
• With a “focus” on permanent residence and considering life intensity in a metropolis, after obtaining citizenship or a work visa, it is easier to find work here all year round, and not only seasonal, as in resort towns
• Much wider choice of services from social spheres: education, medicine. In some moments, issues with paperwork are resolved faster, because documents are sent to Ankara for consideration from a number of cities.
• A large selection of modern heated housing: for Turkey, heating in apartments, unlike in Russia, is rather a rarity than the norm. And heated houses are not built in every city.

Among the shortcomings, we can mention a more severe climate than at the sea, summer heat coupled with winter frosts, as well as the nuances of metropolis life: occasional smog, traffic jams, etc.

However, investing in residential real estate with investment purposes - even if you do not live here yourself permanently - is quite profitable: many specialists come to the city to work under a contract, students - to study. And the Turks themselves willingly rent housing in newly built houses. Thus, renting an apartment and making a profit all year round is easier than in resorts. That, coupled with a lower housing price than in Istanbul, Antalya or Alanya, it allows you to recoup it faster.

In addition, having acquired housing in Turkey, its owner can apply for a residence permit, which means - register a legal entity or obtain a permit to engage in entrepreneurial activity. And where to develop business, if not in the capital?

SPECIFICS OF DIFFERENT AREAS

Let's dwell on the specifics of individual districts of Ankara.

The old regions include Ulus, Hamamonu, Hisar, Altındağ, Samanpazary. It is here that there are preserved quarters, ancient mosques and most of all museums. New buildings in these areas are almost never erected due to authorities ban but you can buy "secondary housing".

The most famous new areas include Mamak, Çankaya, Keçiören, Gölbaşı. Çankaya is the very center: the main array of offices, government agencies, theaters and other educational and cultural institutions is right here. Universities and student hostels are located in the same area. In recent years, little has been built here either, but mainly commercial real estate and secondary housing are being sold.

Oran is territorially neighbor of Çankaya and close to the river. There is a very rich social infrastructure in the sense of hospitals, schools, banks and other organizations necessary for a comfortable life, so housing in Oran is not cheap.

Gölbaşı - the name of the region speaks for itself ("head of the lake"). It is located on the shores of Lake Mogan, and real estate here is often sold by elite class: houses, townhouses, villas and apartments with their own territory and access to natural and artificial water bodies.

Keçiören has perhaps the largest population: about a million. There is also a good infrastructure, there are expensive hotels, luxurious restaurants and nightclubs. There are many interesting residential complexes and high-rise buildings in Keçiören where you can buy an apartment.

Located in the northeast of the capital, Mamak is perhaps the most democratic. And housing prices are lower here. Most of the buildings are former workers' quarters, but there are also high-level (expensive) residential complexes. By the way, it is in Mamak that the authorities provide social housing to pensioners aged 65 and over, as well as students: according to the latest data, both categories can rent an apartment for as little as 100 Turkish lira per month.

AVERAGE INDICATORS FOR HOUSING IN GENERAL

Over the past year, housing in Ankara has risen especially in price – by almost a third – making happy those who managed to buy it before the beginning of 2020.

So, according to Endeksa portal, one of the key information sources on Turkish real estate, from January 2017 to January 2020, the average cost per square meter of housing in Ankara did not rise too much: fluctuations were observed from 1 633 to 1 776 Turkish lira per square meter. However, from January to December 2020, the cost of a meter soared up to 2245 liras.

Total, as of the end of December:

• Price per square meter (city average) – 2 088 TL
• Average residential area - 130 sq.m.
• Increase in price over the last year - 28.29%
• Average payback period - 17 years
• Average time of apartment sale - 67 days

DISTRICT RATING

The most popular areas in terms of housing: Altındağ, Ayaş, Beypazary and Çamlıdere (in descending order)

The fastest recovering areas in terms of housing investment: Sincan, Kahramankazan, Akyurt, Etimesgut and Pursaklar respectively (in descending order).

Areas with the longest investment return in housing:

Altındağ, Ayaş, Bala, Beypazary, Çamlıdere.

Here is the rating of some areas, ranking in ascending order for the average price per 1 sq.m. (in Turkish lira, for a general idea of ​​ prices difference between locations.

The least expensive was Akyurt – 1 198 TL followed by:

- Kızılcahamam (1 264 TL)

- Nallıhan (1 357 TL)

- Elmadağ (1 431 TL)

- Şereflikoçhisar (1 482 TL)

- Mamak (1 600 TL)

- Kalecik (1 639 TL)

- Altındağ (1 715 TL)

- Keçiören (1 890 TL)

- Ayaş (1 975 TL)

- Pursaklar (2 040 TL)

- Etimesgut (2 240 ​​TL)

- Hayman (2 494 TL)

- Yenimahalle (2 537 TL)

- Çamlıdere (2 928 TL)

- Çankaya (3 032 TL)

- and, finally, the most expensive in the rating - Gölbaşı (3 200 TL)

Average return on investment (by increasing the length of the period, also only in certain areas):

- Hayman - 17 years old

- Beypazarı, Etimesgut - 18 years old

- Çankaya, Mamak - 19 years old

- Çubuk, Keçiören, Nallıhan, Polatli, Gölbaşı - 21 years old

- Akyurt, Sincan, Yenimahalle - 22 years old

- Şereflikoçhisar, Kızılcahamam - 23 years old

- Kazan - 24 years old

- Pursaklar - 26 years old

AVERAGE FIGURES CONSIDERING LAYOUT

Table of average prices and time of investment return for apartments of different layouts in Ankara:

As we can see, as of the end of 2020, the most profitable option in Ankara is two-bedroom apartments (2 + 1), which at an average price do not differ much from studios (1 + 0) but investment return is only 13 years.

AVERAGE FIGURES BY DISTRICT

(statistics collected for 21 districts)

Summing up, Ayaş and Kızılcahamam have shown the least price increase, Şereflikoçhisar, Gölbaşı and Çamlıdere have shown the most.

Time will show how apartments cost will change in 2021, especially since Turkish lira has been strengthening against the dollar and the euro in recent weeks; this factor can also affect.

However, Ankara is a city that is not affected by the difficulties of unsuccessful tourist seasons, which is another of its obvious advantages.