Contractors hopeful of rise in foreign demand

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

DAILY NEWS photo, Hasan ALTINIŞIK

Growth may accelerate in the coming months as demand picks up with the removal of obstacles for foreigners who want to purchase property in Turkey.

Despite a slight slowdown in growth in the third quarter, the Turkish construction sector is still achieving double digit growth, according to the Association of Turkish Building Material Producers’ (İMSAD) latest report. 

İMSAD expects there to be a further increase in demand causing growth to accelerate in the coming months given the removal of restrictions on foreigners who want to buy property in Turkey. 

“The fact that the sector has achieved double digit growth despite the slight slowdown is a positive development,” according to the report. The construction sector registered a 10.6 percent growth rate for the third quarter and the sector’s size was 15.03 billion Turkish Liras in that period. 

The third quarter registered a 5.18 percent decline in housing sales compared to the second quarter. This was due in part to the rise in interest rates and the economic crisis in Europe, said İMSAD. 

Meanwhile, in October construction sector material exports totaled $1.67 billion and imports remained at $500 million, according to the report.