Summer houses in Turkey well sought after amid pandemic: Expert

ISTANBUL

Demand for summerhouses and other types of single-detached dwellings has risen due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to an executive of a real estate appraisal portal.

The average price of a detached house has soared 25 percent since March 10, when the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Turkey, Endeksa.com co-founder and general manager Görkem Öğüt said on April 29.

Stand-alone house rent prices also increased 18 percent on average, he added.

Meanwhile, the average sale price of all types of dwellings since March 10 has risen 11 percent compared to the average price between Jan. 1 and March 11. The average rent price has gone up 6 percent across Turkey in the same period.

According to analysis of Endeksa.com, demand for secondary houses in the countryside or coastal areas will continue to increase.

“We have observed that housing demand moved from the big cities to the other ones, especially to summer resorts and dwellings in the highlands, since the effects of the pandemic came to the forefront in our country,” said Öğüt.

“As to the analysis by housing types, it is very clear that interest in single-detached houses is rising,” he said, adding that the Turkish real estate market is yet to meet that demand.

“Thus, we expect a rebalancing in [real estate] prices in the upcoming period,” Öğüt said.