Govt’ scrutinizing house prices, says finance minister

ISTANBUL

The residential property market is on the government’s radar, while excessive price movements are being closely watched, Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati has said.

A comprehensive study on the sharp increases in the real estate market has been launched, Nebati said. “We are doing and will continue to do what is necessary.”

Financial and title deed transactions data collected from online real estate platforms are being analyzed, the minister added.

The department of risk analysis at the Treasury and Finance Ministry is looking into the factors which cause the increase in prices as they impact headline inflation.

Officials are identifying the companies that artificially increase prices and distort the working of the market, as well as companies and individuals who fail to report their income from property sales.

Officials at the Finance Ministry provide the relevant authorities with information about those whose practices contribute to inflation and do not meet their tax obligations.

Officials are also in the field, conducting checks on real estate agents.

Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum recently said that once the government launches the planned major public housing projects, house prices will decline as the house supply increases.

“As soon as the project was unveiled, property prices already started to fall,” Kurum said.

The prohibitively high rents have triggered a wave of relocation in large cities, reported daily Milliyet.

People are looking for apartments in the suburbs within the cities, but some, among them civil servants, are choosing to move to other cities where rents are more affordable, according to the daily.

In the face of the soaring property prices and rents, parliament on June 8 approved legislation that limits rent increases to a maximum of 25 percent.

The residential property index increased by 144.5 percent in May from a year ago, while in real terms, the increase in the index was 41.1 percent, the Central Bank said last month.