IZMIR IS THE «CITY OF CONTRASTS» WHERE HOUSING BECOMES MORE EXPENSIVE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE

CONTENT

• Introduction
• Geography and climate
• Industry, education and medicine
• Transport and infrastructure
• History and leisure
• Advantages of living in Izmir
• Districts
• Choosing an area to buy a house
• Home sales in Izmir in previous years
• Useful figures and facts about housing
• Statistics and prices

INTRODUCTION

In fact, Izmir would be better called the «city of contrasts» in Turkey than Istanbul. At least in terms of accommodation it combines the advantages of a resort with the comfortable live in a metropolis. At the same time, being one of the oldest in the Mediterranean, it is considered one of the most innovative and advanced cities in the country. In addition, the climate is mild for Turkey, and then you can understand why the housing in Izmir is becoming more expensive quickly and rather quickly in the last year.

GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

Izmir, the administrative center of the region of the same name, is one of the largest cities in Turkey (its population is more than 3 million people), as well as it is the second largest seaport of the country after Istanbul.

It is located on the Aegean coast (Izmir Bay). The climate is Mediterranean, but it is milder than in the resorts. There are morning frosts, and sometimes snow falls in winter, but it is very comfortable to relax and swim in summer. You do not need to suffer from the 40-50-degree heat as in the Antalya region. With three hundred sunny days a year, the average temperature is +28-30°C in summer, and the sea warms up to +23-25°C.

There are beautiful views and very clean beaches around the city. In particular, the resort area of Çeşme/Alaçatı is very popular with tourists. Russians are not too familiar with it yet because it is not as cheap as it seems, and there are no direct flights from Moscow to Izmir.

The distance from Izmir to the resort of Kusadasi is 100 km, to Bodrum is 236 km, and to Çeşme is over 70 km.

INDUSTRY, EDUCATION AND MEDICINE

As for business, Izmir is famous for the production of buses and trucks. There are also developed agriculture, food and textile industries, and construction materials production.

The city is known for its universities. There is one of the country's leading institutes, the Izmir Institute of Technology. Other universities are located here: the Ionian University, the University of the Aegean, Dokuz Eylül University, Yaşar University and so on, as well as public and private educational institutions. There are colleges, international schools, including Italian and German ones. So you can study in Izmir in different languages. There are Russian-language institutions for different age categories starting from kindergartens.

The main hospital is Kent Hospital in Izmir, but it is not the only one. There are dozens of public and private clinics in the city.

TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Alsancak railway station is located on the oldest railway line in Turkey. It has been working since 1858. Among the public transport in Izmir, there are trams, buses, and ferries that can take you to Karshiaki. They run literally every minute like in Istanbul.

Izmir is one of the few cities in Turkey that has its own underground connecting with the city train. By the way, it is very convenient to get to the local airport. Adnan Menderes International Airport has flights both within the country and from abroad.

HISTORY AND LEISURE

Izmir has an interesting and great history of more than 3000 years. Izmir (formerly Smyrna) is considered the birthplace of Homer. There are a lot of museums, cultural centres, exhibition halls, etc. There are about twenty art galleries and several theatres in the city.

Shopping lovers can enjoy the numerous shopping centres. There are plenty of beautiful parks, including tennis courts, football fields, basketball and volleyball courts, etc.

ADVANTAGES OF LIVING IN IZMIR

We have already mentioned the climate and infrastructure. In terms of life quality, Izmir is on the same level as Istanbul and Ankara, and it is also the most Europeanised city in Turkey. By the way, Europe is about two hours away in summer, and there are direct flights from Izmir to almost 90 cities from more than 30 countries.

However, there are not as many tourists in the summer as in Antalya and Alanya. And it can be considered an advantage.

So, buying a house in Izmir, you are actually buying an apartment in a resort area and in an interesting city at the same time, where business and social lives are in full swing. It is a pleasant place to live, and it is easier to rent a house here. As a result, the Izmir real estate is considered a reliable investment, and the prices are rising very fast here. The housing has almost doubled in value (+90%) only in the last few years. Therefore, investing is much more profitable here than investing in gold, currency or business.

You can find properties for sale everywhere in Izmir, as well as by the sea. And you can understand that it is much more expensive on the coast. There are new buildings and secondary housing for sale here, small apartments and huge villas, apartments in high-rise buildings and residences in private buildings, housing in the city center and on the outskirts.

You can find almost any layout here for your taste. For example, only apartments are offered in the range from "1+1" to "6+1 without saying about the variety of houses. So the choice is really great, it's all about the price.

The only thing that is important to pay attention to is the quality of the building. Izmir is located in a seismically dangerous zone like other cities on the coast. And just a few months ago, in October 2020, a strong earthquake destroyed a lot of buildings. As it turned out, they did not meet modern construction requirements. However, the damage was really great. Therefore, when choosing a property, it is necessary to check the documents for the house. And you should also make sure that it was built properly. And you need to have not only mandatory earthquake insurance but also private one as well.

DISTRICTS

There are about 30 ilçe (districts) in Izmir province. Of all of them, we especially want to mention Karşıyaka. It is an elite area located on the other side of the Gulf of Izmir. It borders the districts of Menemen in the north, Bornova in the east and Çiğli in the west.

CHOOSING AN AREA TO BUY A HOUSE

Everything depends on personal taste, but there are some areas in Izmir that are profitable (or not so profitable) in terms of the purpose of buying residential real estate. Karşıyaka is considered the most prestigious and popular city with a population of half a million people. By the way, many foreigners choose it to live in this city.

Bayraklı with the national park is also an interesting district. It is located near Karşıyaka. It consists mainly of new buildings. Another neighbour of Karşıyaka is Bornova known for its cultural life. There is also an intercity bus station in Bornova.

The central district of Izmir is Konak. This is where the old city is located. So the area is one of the most expensive ones in Izmir.

Buca is the cheapest district on a number of issues. It is largely a residential area. Balçova is popular with tourists. It has its own cable car and popular thermal springs for travellers. Therefore, it is sane and logical to buy residential real estate here for the purpose of renting.

In general, there are mainly elite residential complexes in the center and on the first lines by the sea. And they are very expensive buildings to rent and live here. Low-income housing is located mainly on the outskirts.

You can choose either a house or a villa here because private housing by the sea is very popular in Izmir. The demand for them has dramatically increased in recent times. The area of the villas can be several hundred meters. But you'll have to fork out because the price per square meter in the villas on average is more than a thousand euros, and it can cost two thousand euros.

HOUSING SALES IN IZMIR IN PREVIOUS YEARS: FACTS AND FIGURES

According to the Hürriyet Emlak rating compiled in March 2018, Izmir was the province with the highest increase in real estate prices among the 5 largest Turkish cities. In 2017 (as well as last year), the housing has risen in price by 30%. The Urla district had the highest increase in February 2017 (Urla, +5.3% for the month). The average investment return period at the beginning of 2018 was 22 years, but in Çeşme it was more than twice as short and it was 10 years.

2019 was an exception because the real estate market entered a downturn, which some experts even called it a crisis moment. But it turned out to be temporary because analysts reported an increase in price up to 90% in 2020.

Filiz Akaya, regional manager of the Izmir Department of EVA Real Estate Valuation, said that the housing was rapidly becoming more expensive both in the city center and on the coast. In 2019 (as of the end of December), 79,221 housing units were sold in Izmir, while the price increased by 10.26% compared to December 2018. Estimating the volume of transactions in Izmir, Mr. Akkaya said that Izmir became the third city in sales after Istanbul and Ankara. Focusing on the fact that the demand for summer houses (seasonal residences) has also increased significantly.

Among the most expensive districts of the province, the expert mentioned Çeşme, Urla, Bayraklı, the center of Bornova Yeni Kent, the district of Karshiyaka Mavişehir-Atakent, as well as Güzelbahçe. He said that the area of residential real estate had significantly increased in low-income areas, namely in Chigli-Ataşehir, Menemen-Ulukent, Gaziemir and Torbalı.

The apartment price is also rising everywhere in Izmir due to the industrial development of the region. «Thanks to the Istanbul-Izmir-Canakkale bridge, the Izmir-Aliyaga-Çandarlı highway project, as well as the construction of the Istanbul-Bursa-Izmir highway and urban transformations, the demand for land and buildings suitable for living all year round is very noticeable,» Mr. Akkaya said. Especially it is noticeable in such resort areas as Foça, Dikili and Çandarlı. Although resort properties in Çeşme and Alaçatı are in constant demand. People refuse to buy еру secondary housing in the coastal villages of Dikili and Ayvalık used only in the summer and they tend to buy the primary housing in residential complexes, which are really convenient for living here all year round.

Here are some examples of Izmir-specific prices, as of early 2020, before the pandemic:

Urla

- It is suitable for year-round living accommodation: 6000-10000 TL per 1 sq. m.

- Here is an example of a two-level residence (duplex) with an area of 120 sq. m - 950,000 TL

- Or another example of a detached house on the territory of a residential complex with a swimming pool, with an area of 120-150 sq. m – 1-1.75 million TL

Iskele

- There are 6500-12000 housing units per 1 sq. m, the price of a villa with a swimming pool is from 2 million TL

Alaçatı

- There are villas from 6000 TL per 1 sq. m. The villas cost 7500-15000 TL per sq. m within the seaport. The prestigious areas of Çeşme (Aya Yorgi Bay, Boyalik Mevki, Ilidzha beach and Pasha Harbor) cost 14 000-20 000 TL per sq. m.

According to the Izmir Department of the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜIK), the sales slightly declined in the autumn of 2020. Perhaps local residents are concerned about the instability of their financial situation, which has continued since the beginning of the pandemic. As a result, the real estate purchases were a quarter (24%) less in October 2020 than a year earlier: 6,846 against 9,012 transactions.

By district:

750 housing units sold in Buca

730 — in Karşıyaka

534 — in Torbalı

532 (almost the same number) — in Karabağlar

453 — in Bornova

405 — in Chigli

356 — in Konak

279 — in Bayraklı

Moreover, the mortgage-related sales decreased in October 2020 compared to October 2019 by 54% (to be more precise by 53.9%): 1,692 housing units were mortgaged in the region. Of all mortgage sales, a little more than 26% is primary housing, and a little more than 73% is secondary housing.

This trend continues to this day. So now is the perfect time to take a mortgage loan to buy a house in Izmir because banks are interested in new customers, and therefore they are more loyal to them. We can recall that it is not difficult for foreigners to take out a mortgage in Turkey, and the interest rate is very low here.

USEFUL FACTS AND FIGURES ABOUT HOUSING

Izmir and its surroundings is the region where the real estate is growing faster in price.

Here, there is also a very large, almost 6 times, range of prices per square meter: from 1636 to 10182 TL

From January 2017 to January 2020, the average price per square meter increased by 500 TL (from 2304 to 2890 TL), but then it rose sharply: in December 2020, the average price per square meter was already 3467 TL. It is +32.83%.

The price increase was +32.83% for a year and +64.76% for four years.

In January 2021, the average price for 1 sq. m has already been fixed at the level of 3783 TL.

The average area of the residential real estate for sale is 125 sq. m.

The average cost of a housing unit is 433,375 TL.

The average investment return period in the region is 21 years.

Aliağa, Bayindir, Bergama, Bornova and Çeşme have the fastest growing areas in price (as of the end of December 2020).

Gaziemir, Narlıdere, Güzelbahçe, Bayraklı and Karabağlar had the fastest investment return.

Aliaga, Bayindir, Bergama, Bornova and Çeşme had the slowest investment return.

The average age of real estate is 8 years.

The average term of housing sale is 68 days.

STATISTICS AND PRICES

Prices and investment return period, taking into account the layout

As you can see, at the present time, the equivalents of Russian studios and one-bedroom apartments are profitable for 17 years. If you choose one of two options, a one-room apartment is more profitable because the price is almost the same. But it is easier to rent them out, at least to local residents because both Turks and Europeans do not really understand a type of housing without a separate bedroom.

The districts most recommended by the portal Endeksa.com

(as of January 2020, district / cost of housing / cost of rent per month, in descending order)

Akdeniz / 2 529 000 TL / 4700 TL

Kültür / 1 323 000 TL / 3900 TL

Mavişehir / 1 266 000 TL / 3300 TL

Atakent / 825 000 TL  / 2600 TL

Bostanlı / 679.000 TL / 2500 TL

Yalı / 593 000 TL / 2500 TL

Erzene / 504 000 TL / 1900 TL

Average figures for the district