58,576 housing units were sold in 2021 to foreign investors in Turkey, with 50,000 deals initially considered a bold plan. Next year, the real estate sector expects to double this. But, first things first!
Content:
- Currency fluctuations and results
- Housing prices have doubled in Turkey
- Iranian citizens are the leading buyers
- Top 10 leading countries by the end of 2021
- Istanbul and Antalya are the leaders in real estate demand
- Istanbul is a champion in housing sales for foreign investors
- Deal forecasts for 2022
- Results and forecasts of the most well-known destinations
- The most famous housing is branded
Currency fluctuations and results
Jumps in exchange rates in 2021 led to a slowdown or freezing of processes in some areas of the economy, and the housing sector suffered from the same process. According to TÜIK, in December, home sales to foreigners increased by 77.1% compared to December 2020. The number of transactions for this month alone was 7,841.
In 2021, citizens of other states purchased 58,576 apartments or houses in Turkey. In 2020, this indicator was 40,812 transactions, with sales increasing by 43.5%.
Between 2013 and 2021, total housing sales to foreigners in Turkey amounted to 278,927 units. In 2021 alone, according to the Central Bank, the amount of money brought into the country as a result of these transactions was $5.157 billion, with the forecast for 2022 at least $10 billion.
Housing prices have doubled in Turkey
A report from the Center for Economic and Social Research of Bahçesehir University (Betam) states that housing prices in Turkey reached their highest levels last year. According to Betam, rental for housing in Turkey at the end of 2021 showed an average annual growth of 63.7%. In some regions and cities, it’s almost doubled.
Iranian citizens are the leading buyers
We published detailed statistics on buyers according to country in an earlier publication. We’ll now provide you with a summary.
In December 2021, foreigners purchased 7,841 housing units, of which 1462 were bought by Iranian citizens. Residents of Iraq (1,039 transactions) ranked second and citizens of the Russian Federation (885 transactions) are in third place.
These three leaders have remained unchanged for several months.
As for the general annual figures, in 2021, Iranians purchased 10,056 apartments or houses. Citizens of Iraq – 8,661, Russians - 5,379, Afghans - 2,762, and Germans - 2,358.
Total housing sales to foreigners over the past year amounted to 58,576 units. In general, citizens of other countries have concluded 68,600 real estate transactions in Turkey; the rest are plots of land, fields, offices, and other property not classified as residential.
Mehmet Zeki Adly, Director-General of the Land Cadastre Department under the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, clarified that the demand for real estate in Turkey from residents of other states has increased since 2018. Most of all, over the past year, housing has become a more reliable option for investing, saving, and multiplying funds compared to currency, precious metals, stocks, etc.
"Turkey has become a haven especially for residents of Arab and Middle Eastern countries. In other words, citizens of states where democracy does not work well and wealthy people are considering buying real estate abroad to secure their savings," said Mr. Adly said.
Summarizing client preferences, the expert clarified that foreign nationals prefer to invest in real estate in coastal areas. As for citizens of other countries, they buy housing in Turkey, "... there are many people of Turkish origin in Iraq and Iran and these countries prefer Turkish housing. England and Germany have lagged in recent years and their total number of purchases has decreased slightly compared to previous years; demand from these states is stable."
Top 10 leading countries by the end of 2021:
- Iran — 10,056 housing units;
- Iraq — 8,661;
- Russia — 5,379;
- Afghanistan — 2,762;
- Germany — 2,358 (Germans moved from 6th place in 2020 to 5th in 2021);
- Kazakhstan — 2,090;
- Kuwait — 1,791;
- Azerbaijan — 1,517 (there were a lot of investors of Turkish origin among buyers);
- USA — 1,416 (interest from the citizens of this country is also growing);
- Yemen — 1,332;
- Palestine — 1,296.
Jordan, Ukraine, Egypt, England, Lebanon, China, Pakistan, Sweden, and Sudan are also on the list of countries where citizens purchase many apartments or houses in Turkey.
Istanbul and Antalya are the leaders in real estate demand
Foreign buyers accounted for 4.3% of the total number of transactions over the past year. This is more than in previous years when this figure was 2-3% (the previous figure was 3.9%).
In Antalya, as the tourism center and the informal "tourist capital" of Turkey, this share reached 18.6% of the total sales in the region for the year.
In 2020, this figure was 12.1% while in 2021, 66,691 residences were purchased in Antalya, and residents of other states bought 12,384 of them.
In 2020, out of the total number of transactions in the region (63,898), foreigners became owners of only 7,735 housing units.
Istanbul is 1st in line in the list of record-breaking cities: 26,469 sales to foreigners for the year or 45.2% of the total.
- Antalya is 2nd with 12,384 deals; Ankara is 3rd (3,672);
- 4th place — Mersin (2,513);
- 5th — Yalova (1,818);
- 6th — Bursa (1,683);
- 7th — Izmir (1,411);
- 8th — Sakarya (1,262);
- 9th — Samsun (1,157);
- 10th — Trabzon (952).
Mehmet Zeki Adly also mentioned Muglu as one of the key provinces; not in the number of transactions but the quality and prestige of the acquired real estate.
Istanbul is a champion in housing sales for foreign investors
This metropolis is the leader in housing sales to foreigners every month and year. In December 2021, residents of other states purchased 3,300 housing units here.
In 2020, foreigners bought 19,175 residences in Istanbul and in 2021, this figure increased by over 40% to 26,469 transactions.
The share of foreigners in the total volume of buyers in Istanbul in 2021 was 9.6%. It increased compared to 2020 when the figure was 7.2%.
Deal forecasts for 2022
Aremas Chairman of the Board of Directors and real estate expert Vedat Arslan, after estimating the housing sales statistics in 2021, believes that the volume of transactions for foreigners will double in 2022. Moreover, last year, despite the pandemic, the effect of the exchange rate increased sales to foreign buyers so much that it exceeded even the most ambitious expectations.
The next annual target for foreign deals is 100,000.
Having pointed out that the share of home sales to foreigners in total over the past year is 3.9%, Mr. Arslan predicts that this figure will continue to grow unless any new regulations in the legislation hurt sales.
Vedat Arslan says: "Yes, we expected an increase in both domestic and foreign transactions in December considering this a natural consequence of lower interest rates in state-owned banks. However, considering the exchange rate adjustment, sales growth was higher and exceeded our most ambitious forecasts. Thus, it was the best year in the last 5 years. This indicates that the housing sector closed well in 2021.
In the number of transactions with foreigners, we reached a monthly figure of 7,000-8,000, breaking the record; however, the industry potential is higher. So, in 2022, our minimum goal is at least 75,000-80,000 transactions and preferably 100,000."
President of the Association for the Promotion of Foreign Real Estate (GIGDER) Omer Farouk Akbal mentioned these figures and announced his forecast for 2022. Mr. Akbal recalled that the figure of 50,000 transactions for 2021 was overcome in November; "... we expect that we will complete the year with the sale of real estate to foreigners of at least 70,000 units in 2022."
Chairman of the Board of the Istanbul Association of Builders (INDER) Nazmi Durbakayim noted that the growth of foreign currency in recent months has accelerated the demand, both from foreigners seeking citizenship and from those who want to invest in Turkey as a cultural and tourist destination. According to the figures, the expert agrees with colleagues. The minimum to be expected is 70,000 and the forecast is 100,000 sales and more.
Results and forecasts of the most well-known destinations
As before, the most popular region is Istanbul. It annually accounts for about 10% of the total number of transactions with buyers who are residents of other states.
However, the attention of potential investors has recently been increasingly directed to the south of the largest Turkish metropolis. "We know that Istanbul is a city that is always in demand," experts comment, "but when we look at the dynamics of housing growth in value, it is slightly behind other Turkish provinces. In other words, according to the latest data, interest in locations outside Istanbul especially in residential areas suitable for an isolated lifestyle — Bodrum, Milas, Cesme, etc. — has increased much more."
Antalya remains the second leader in sales to foreigners. The region and city of the same name called the capital of tourism continues to be the most popular destination for foreigners in housing sales and investments.
Chairman of the Helmann Yapı Board Selman Ozgün stated: "The projects announced by Turkish contractors will continue to draw attention to the construction sector. The conditions that interest international housing investors will remain the same in 2022 and another record will be broken in the tourism sector. So we expect to achieve new heights in property sales to foreigners."
The expert hopes that it will be the first time Antalya crosses the threshold of 10,000 deals with foreigners (12,384 in a year, 66,691 out of a total number of transactions for 2021); one can count on at least 15,000 sales to foreign investors in 2022. "This province is beautiful and has a favorable climate; it’s impossible not to pay attention to the convenience and unique charm of the city. In addition, the airport provides direct flights to many destinations abroad. With these features, Antalya deserves much more attention."
Davut Cetin, President of the Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ATSO), agrees with him, saying that Antalya received over 9,000,000 tourists during the pandemic. This speaks for itself.
According to Anadolu agency reports, the city attracts tourists from all over the world and ranks second in Turkey after Istanbul in housing sales to investors from abroad. As Davut Cetin clarified, most buyers came here from Germany, Russia, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, and the Middle East.
Antalya also attracts attention as a business area. Davut Cetin said that although a tourist city, “Antalya is in high demand among foreign investors; foreign partners created 558 new companies in the city in 2021. ATSO has 56,000 member companies registered in the province and 4,647 of them are firms with foreign capital." In particular, there are 626 German, 656 Russian, 522 Iranian, and 283 Azerbaijani partner projects in Antalya. The Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan are next on the list.
In addition to housing, foreigners invest in food companies, travel agencies, the construction industry, restaurants, agriculture, and textile firms. Mr. Cetin says that companies with foreign partners contribute significantly to the economy and job creation in the city. The owners of these companies often purchase housing here.
Investor-residents of other countries underestimate Izmir. On the one hand, it has taken 7th place among cities in housing sales to foreigners. However, the volume of transactions is not huge and the growth is significant. At least there was one impressive indicator - the investments of foreigners in Izmir have doubled in a short period. Citizens from Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan have bought a lot of housing. This was primarily from Iran as Turkish citizenship allows Iranians to trade with countries significant to them, bypassing the food embargo.
Islam Yildirim, President of the Izmir Contractors Association (IMDER), stated, "If we properly present our city, taking care of its positioning and infrastructure, we will soon increase our share in the total foreign housing sales to 10%. We believe that home sales to foreigners will increase more in 2022 while maintaining the advantages of the exchange rate."
Izmir is the third city with the highest housing sales in Turkey in almost all ratings. Therefore, local market players are dissatisfied with the number of transactions with foreign investors in Izmir and 2% of the total number of sales: "Yes, home sales to foreigners in Izmir have increased but have not reached the level we expected. Distinguished by its climate, nature, bay, history, and socio-cultural values, Izmir should be in much greater demand - it is waiting to be ‘discovered’. That's why we need to promote it better abroad."
The most famous housing is branded
According to the statistics from the latest "REIDIN-GYODER New Housing Price Index" that tracks "branded projects" (housing built by major companies in exclusive projects), in December, foreigners concluded 7.44% of transactions. In the last half of the year, the figure is higher at 8.58%. The 1+1 format (apartments with 1 bedroom and 1 kitchen-living room), after a break, became popular again. At least 61.11% of people preferred not to purchase but considered it.
Branded residential complexes and entire neighborhoods are in demand in Istanbul among foreign buyers.