Foreign nationals purchased more than 35,000 properties between January 2013 and March 2015.
Ahmet Temeltas, chairman of the construction firm Nova Gayrimenkul, said in a press release on Friday that the real estate sector in Turkey has been growing mostly because of foreign interest. Foreign citizens seek to buy homes mostly in Istanbul, Sakarya, Bursa and Trabzon provinces, Temeltas said, and the number of properties sold is highest in the months of April and September.
The real estate sector receives the highest number of investors from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Kuwait, Temeltas added.
Underlining that the price of properties in districts close to the newly planned airport in Istanbul such as Esenyurt, Arnavutkoy and Beylikduzu will most probably increase in the near future, Temeltas said, “These areas are attractive to foreign investors because they are likely to be developed.”
Temeltas said the sale of second-hand homes has also increased year-on-year and added: “Investor interest in second-hand homes is also growing because people can take over the title and rent or move into their properties immediately.”
Touching on the problems in the sector, Temeltas said: “Apart from economic troubles, the biggest problem is with broken promises in construction projects. Unfortunately, brand-name projects and contractors who do a professional job suffer from these problems.” However, brand-name housing projects seem more reliable in the eyes of customers, Temeltas said, “because what gives privilege to branded projects is construction firms’ commitment to on-time delivery and their pledges that the end product will match the design.”
Commenting on the fluctuations in the exchange rate of the Turkish lira, Temeltas added that the rise in the value of the dollar against the lira was leading to instability and curbing domestic investment but at the same time was resulting in increased interest from foreign nationals.
Source Zaman
