Property sales in Turkey up 5% in August

ANKARA-Anadolu Agency

The number of residential properties sold in Turkey rose 5% year-on-year in August, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) announced on Sept. 18.

A total of 110,538 houses changed hands last month, TÜİK said in a statement.

TÜİK data showed that the number of properties sold to foreigners slipped 6.8% during the same period.

Of the total sales, 3,604 houses were sold to foreigners, including 43% (or 1,549 units) in Istanbul, the country's largest city by population.

Following Istanbul, the Mediterranean holiday resort of Antalya came second with sales to foreigners of 656 properties, while the northwestern province of Bursa ranked third with 228 units.

Official data showed that Iraqis topped the list of foreign buyers in August with 675 properties, followed by Iranians with 469 units, Russians with 212, Kuwaitis with 159, and Germans with 149.