2023 has come to an end. Let's look at the accumulated overseas housing sales statistics in Turkey.
Contenu:
- 2023: important changes
- Nationalities of buyers and TOP 3 leading provinces
- The intermediate conclusions:
- The 10 provinces most popular with foreigners
- To be continued
2023: important changes
An unexpected and, unfortunately, unpleasant event of the year was the increase in the minimum amount for obtaining a residence permit by TAPU from $75,000 (for large cities) and $50,000 (for small towns) to $200,000. Moreover, the Turkish authorities were in no hurry to announce the new requirements informing about them retroactively and presenting the innovation as a clarification of the law. This rule came into force on October 16, 2023.
Of course, the authorities continue to issue residence permits when buying real estate in Turkey for a smaller amount, but tourist ones. After 5 years of living in the country, you will not be able to apply for citizenship based on this document.
However, brokers and construction companies selling their apartments have found loopholes in how to legally circumvent the new rules without violating anything; for advice and recommendations please turn to qualified sellers.
Meanwhile, let's remind you how things were with selling housing to citizens of other countries in 2023 (January–November, as the official statistics for December have not yet been published and will be revealed at the end of January 2024).
Nationalities of buyers and TOP 3 leading provinces
January
4161 lots were sold to foreign investors. The leading cities in volume are Antalya (1,592), Istanbul (1,380), and Mersin (331).
The Russian Federation made the most deals purchasing 1,557 housing units, Iran – 526, Iraq – 229, and Ukraine – 157.
February
3,350 housing units. The leading cities are Antalya (1,261), Istanbul (1,133), and Mersin (225).
Citizens of the Russian Federation (1,183), Iran (446), Iraq (173), and Ukraine (142) made the most real estate deals.
March
3,415 units. The leading cities are Antalya (1,324), Istanbul (1,090), and Mersin (240).
The Russian Federation holds the lead (1,175 residences) followed by Iran (472), Iraq (165), and Ukraine (160).
April
2,557 housing units. The top cities are Antalya (1,034), Istanbul (792), and Mersin (186).
Citizens of the Russian Federation (817), Iran (377), Ukraine (136), and Iraq (124) bought the most housing units.
May
3,167 lots. The leading cities are Antalya (1,245), Istanbul (934), and Mersin (249).
The largest number of housing among residents is in Russia (991), Iran (503), Ukraine (175), and Germany (129).
June
2,625 housing units were sold to foreigners. The top cities are Antalya (1,004), Istanbul (760), and Mersin (223).
The leading countries by the number of deals are Russia (733), Iran (333), Iraq (175), and Ukraine (168).
July
2,801 home sales to foreigners. The leading cities are Antalya (996), Istanbul (832) and Mersin (263).
Among the buyers, the Russian Federation ranks first (772), Iran (272) is in second place, Iraq (204) ranks third, and Ukraine (146) is in fourth.
August
3,068 housing units. The top cities are Istanbul (1,066), Antalya (919), and Mersin (248).
The leading countries are Russia (733), Iran (342), Iraq (220), and Kazakhstan (141).
September
2,930 lots. The leading cities are Antalya (1,070 sales), Istanbul (978), and Mersin (211).
The countries that have purchased the most real estate are the Russian Federation (722), Iran (327), Iraq (191), and Germany (148).
October
2,535 residences acquired by foreigners. The top cities are Antalya (931), Istanbul (758), and Mersin (294).
The major "investor" countries are Russia (713 housing units), Iran (235), Germany (152), and Ukraine (138).
Finally, November
2,342 units have been sold. The leading cities are Antalya (790), Istanbul (710), and Mersin (316).
The top countries are Russia (637), Iran (234), Ukraine (128), and Kazakhstan (117).
The intermediate conclusions:
- Russia, Iran, and Iraq are among the top 3 countries that have purchased a lot of real estate. However, Ukraine and Germany have begun to crowd them in recent months.
- The number of transactions with foreign nationals in Q1 (January–March) decreased by 23.8% compared to January–March 2022: 10,926 housing units were sold in three months.
- The number of deals with investors from other countries in the first half of the year (January–June) declined by 45.5% compared to the previous year: by almost 20,000 units in 6 months, or 19,275.
- After 11 months, the number of transactions with foreigners decreased by 46.1%. Overseas customers purchased 32,941 housing units during this period. December is unlikely to improve the situation, so there is no need to wait for an impressive 2022 result of over 60,000 deals.
Nevertheless, this statistics helps us figure out which cities are in the greatest demand, as well as who buys houses in Turkey and how many. At least, you do not have to ask yourself whether to buy an apartment in Mersin or not: it confidently ranks third in the top.
The 10 provinces most popular with foreigners
The demand for the selected provinces is based on detailed statistics for the 10 months of last year – from January to October (the figures for November-December has not yet been collected).
The Turkish Institute of Statistics provided statistical information that the 10 provinces most in demand by foreign investors (30,599 housing units) were:
- Antalya – 11,303 housing units (apartments or houses);
- Istanbul – 9,723;
- Mersin – 2,470;
- Ankara – 925;
- Bursa – 864;
- Yalova – 848;
- Izmir – 651;
- Mugla – 523;
- Sakarya – 472;
- Kocaeli – 463;
- All other provinces together – 2,357.
The statistics for Q3 (July–September), which analysts call the "most revealing" or similar to the results of the whole year, looks like this:
- Foreign nationals bought 8,789 housing units in Turkey during this period, which is 38.4% less than in the same period in 2022. Overseas customers purchased 28,064 houses or apartments in Turkey between January and September.
- Russians acquired the most residential properties in Q3 and for the whole year, and the highest sales during this period were observed in Antalya: 2,922 deals. This is 33.2% of the total volume – one third of all "export sales." Istanbul took the second place with a minimal margin – its share was 32.7%. Mersin ranked third, with a share of 8.2% (which is also impressive for such a "young" province among foreign buyers).
The next article will be devoted to the overseas housing sales statistics in Istanbul and Antalya.