Home sales increase 39 percent in April

ANKARA

Home sales increased by a strong 38.8 percent on an annual basis in April, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) said on May 17. 

Some 133,058 properties changed hands in the month, down from 134,170 houses sold in March.

Mortgage-financed home sales rose by 83 percent from a year ago 17,514, which corresponded to 24.1 percent of all residential property sales.

First home sales grew nearly 25 percent to 29,112 units, while second-hand sales were up 45 percent to 66,651, TÜİK data showed.

Istanbul retained its largest property market status. Some 26,330 homes were sold in the metropolis in April, capturing a 19.8 percent share of all property sales in Turkey.

Ankara ranked second at 12,195 house sales, or 9.2 percent share, and the western province of İzmir at 8,459 sales, or 6.4 percent share.

Earlier this month, the government announced a raft of measures designed to provide cheaper housing loans to fight the surging housing prices.

According to the scheme, loans with a monthly rate of 0.99 percent and a maturity period of 10 years will be provided to first-time homebuyers for houses worth up to 2 million Turkish Liras ($130,000).

Under a second scheme, dubbed “Broader Housing Financing Package,” loans with a monthly interest rate of 0.89 percent and 10 years of maturity will be provided to those who convert their foreign exchange savings to Turkish Lira or sell their gold to the Central Bank to purchase houses worth up to 2 million liras.

Treasury and Finance Minister Nurettin Nebati said this week that authorities will keep a close eye on the property market to prevent unreasonable hikes in home prices.

Homes sales to foreigners up 58 percent

TÜİK also reported that a total of 6,477 residential properties were sold to foreign nationals in April, marking a strong 58.1 percent increase from a year ago.

Istanbul was the favorite destination of foreign homebuyers, who purchased 2,564 properties in the city, followed by Antalya, on the Mediterranean coast, at 1,970 and Ankara at 333 home sales.
Russians topped the foreign buyers’ list. They bought 1,152 homes in Turkey in April alone. Russians and Ukrainians, who fled the conflict, have been coming to Turkey. They relocate mostly to Istanbul and Antalya, buying and renting houses. In the month, home sales to Ukrainian nationals stood at 263 units.

Iranians and Iraqis also bought 905 and 714 residential properties in Turkey.

From January to April, home sales to foreign nationals increased by 49 percent to 20,791 units, data also showed.