Ankara and Antalya: Turkey’s two capitals, the official one and the holiday one

Two of the provinces most in demand among property buyers in Turkey are the metropolises that can be thought of as the country’s two capitals: the holiday one and the official one. Antalya draws foreign investors; Ankara is gaining ground as the more seismically settled option, with work available all year and business that does not shut down in winter as it does at many resorts.

One misconception is worth clearing up first: the capital of Turkey is Ankara and only Ankara. Istanbul is larger and better known but performs no capital functions — the government, the parliament, the ministries and the embassies are in Ankara. Antalya is called the holiday capital informally, on the strength of its tourism and property transactions.

One thing to keep in mind if you are buying to live: in Ankara, unlike Antalya, where a good proportion of service staff speak at least basic Russian, few people speak even English outside airports, hotels and expensive restaurants. Learning some Turkish is worth considering. A basic set of phrases is collected in our short Turkish phrasebook.

Content:

• What changed by 2026
• Antalya
• Prices by district in Antalya
• Conclusions from the table
• Ankara
• The districts of most investment interest
• Employment and business
• Prices by district in Ankara
• Ankara or Antalya: how to choose
• Popular questions

What changed by 2026

A detailed district-level survey from the summer of 2023 follows below. It has been kept, because the relative standing of the locations has changed little. The absolute figures have dated, though, so the current ones come first.

The conclusion is not the obvious one: in dollar terms a meter in Antalya has barely moved in three years, while Ankara has risen by roughly a quarter. Not because the coast stalled, but because price growth in lira was consumed by the currency’s decline. The annual growth figures in the 2023 reports — 99%, 111%, 125% — therefore need reading with that in mind: they are lira inflation rather than real gains in capital.

Antalya remains above the national average and Ankara below it, and the ratio between them has held: a meter in the holiday province costs about half as much again as one in the capital.

Antalya

The figures below are from the summer and early autumn of 2023 and show the market as it stood then.

• According to the Endeksa report, prices in the “holiday capital” rose 111.5% over the preceding 12 months.
• The average price of residential property per sq m was 1,124 $.
• The average apartment size across Antalya province was 120 sq m.
• The average price per unit was 134,850 $.
• The payback period stood at 19 years.

Across the province the average price per sq m moved as follows through that year: January 779 $, February 832 $, March 878 $, April 927 $, May 971 $, June 1,033 $, July 1,124 $, August 1,121 $.

On the citizenship threshold, to be precise: it is 400,000 $, and the sum may be made up of several properties in a single transaction. The conditions and restrictions are set out in our article on the procedure for buying property in Turkey.

Prices by district in Antalya

Conclusions from the table

• The most expensive square meter is in Kaş, as are the priciest units on average — one and a half to two, and sometimes four, times the level of other districts. Kaş is an upmarket resort village that British buyers discovered some years ago.
• For the same reason the longest payback is also in Kaş: 45 years, against 16 to 30 elsewhere. Property here is bought for comfortable living, often in retirement, rather than for resale.
• The cheapest square meter is in Elmalı and Korkuteli, at 557 $ and 618 $.
• The smallest average apartment is in Aksu, at 87 sq m.
• By average price per unit, the cheapest is Korkuteli.
• The most expensive housing by average price, Kaş aside, is in Konyaaltı, Döşemealtı, Kemer, Serik and Alanya. Serik is the settlement closest to the Belek resort area.
• The shortest payback is in Kepez (16 years), Muratpaşa (18) and Manavgat (19). The first two are districts of Antalya; Manavgat contains the resort area of Side.

Ankara

Ankara, the official capital, is the country’s second largest city and offers wide opportunities for business and investment across sectors. There is also far more employment here than at the resorts, in education, technology, healthcare and construction among others.

On the seismic point raised in the introduction, some precision helps. Ankara does lie outside the zones of greatest seismic hazard, while much of the coast and the southeast lies within them. But there is no universally safe territory in Turkey, and what matters most to a buyer is not the city but the year the building went up: construction to the 2018 standards differs fundamentally from the older stock. How that works, and what the compulsory DASK insurance covers, is set out in our article on safety in Turkey.

The districts of most investment interest

• Çankaya: central and among the most prestigious, home to the embassies and diplomatic missions along with many historic and cultural sites.
• Beştepe: the district of the Presidential Complex, known for its greenery — Ankara has a great many parks.
• Bahçelievler: home to the main campus of Ankara University and one of the centres of student life, with a young population, cafes and bars.
• Kızılay: the commercial heart of Ankara, with wide streets, shops, malls and restaurants. One of the liveliest parts of the city.
• Çayyolu: popular with families for its parks, green walking areas, shopping centres and good schools.
• Oran: adjoining Çankaya, home to higher-income families, upmarket property and international schools and colleges.
• 

Employment and business

What work can be found in Ankara, and which ventures suit a foreigner: with one important qualification — the right to work comes not from a residence permit but from a separate work permit requested by the employer. Citizenship carries no such restriction.

• Restaurants, and food and drink retail.
• Technology and software development: Ankara hosts many engineering firms and research centres.
• Education: language schools, tutoring, educational consulting.
• Arts and crafts: handmade goods, painting or ceramics courses, exhibition spaces.
• Social media and digital marketing consulting.
• Cleaning and maintenance for residential complexes and offices.
• Travel and tour agencies.
• Agriculture and organic produce: there is a good deal of farmland around Ankara.

How a work permit is obtained, what quotas apply and which professions are closed to foreigners is covered in our article on working in Turkey as a foreigner.

Prices by district in Ankara

As of August 2023: annual growth of 125.38%, an average unit size of 130 sq m and an average payback of 13 years. The average price per meter across the province in August was 672 $ — the earlier version of this article gave 611 $ in this section, which contradicted the monthly series set out below.

The monthly average price per sq m across Ankara province through 2023: January 401 $, February 436 $, March 463 $, April 493 $, May 525 $, June 559 $, July 609 $, August 672 $. In the earlier version this series was labelled as Antalya data, although it belongs to Ankara.

Ankara or Antalya: how to choose

Comparing the two on price per meter misses the point: they answer different questions.

Put simply: property for seasonal use and letting to tourists means Antalya. Property for work, schooling and year-round living means Ankara — and learning the language.

“Ankara is chosen by people moving to live, Antalya by people moving to holiday. The mistake starts when the second is passed off as the first: in winter half the resort town shuts,” a specialist in transaction support in Turkey says.

Popular questions

What is the capital of Turkey?

Ankara. Istanbul is larger but is not the capital: the government, the parliament and the embassies are in Ankara. Antalya is called the holiday capital informally.

Where is housing more expensive?

Antalya. In the summer of 2026 a meter there cost about 55,495 TL (1,148 $) against 38,674 TL (800 $) in Ankara.

Why do the 2023 reports show such enormous price growth?

Because it is measured in lira. In dollar terms a meter in Antalya has barely changed over three years, while Ankara has risen by about a quarter.

Where is letting better?

Antalya brings a higher seasonal income but demand falls in winter. Ankara lets year-round, to students and public servants.

Is Turkish necessary?

In Ankara, effectively yes: Russian is barely spoken and English far from universal. On the coast you can manage without it.