Outbreak hits property sales to foreigners

ANKARA-Anadolu Agency

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected property sales to foreign nationals, official data have shown.

Foreigners purchased a total of 16,000 homes and nearly 980 land plots in Turkey in the first half of 2020, down from 20,000 homes and more than 1,100 they bought in the country a year earlies, according to the Directorate General of Land Registry.

Istanbul and Antalya province on the Mediterranean coast were foreigners’ favorite property markets in Turkey.

In the first half of the year foreign national bought more than 8,100 homes in Istanbul properties and another 2,800 properties in Antalya, which is a major holiday destination for local and international tourists. Ankara saw foreigners buy more than 1,000 houses in the country’s capital.

They also purchased around 504 homes in the industrial northwestern province of Bursa.

Iranians topped the list as they bought some 2,900 homes in Turkey in January-July, followed by Iraqis with 2,500.

Homes sales to Russians and Afghans amounted to 984, and 958, respectively, according to data from the general directorate.