Turkish home sales bounce back in August

ISTANBUL

Higher interest rates, political stability concerns, and the high base effect had all hit Turks’ demand for new homes in recent months.

House sales in Turkey bounced back in August after a sluggish performance in recent months, surging by a quarter compared to the same period last year, according to official data.

Figures announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) showed that a total of 105,624 homes were purchased in August, a 25 percent jump from August 2013.

Analysts and sector representatives had been expecting sales to pick up, boosted by the end of the presidential election period at the beginning of August, the removal of political uncertainty, and the end of the summer holiday.

Only 81,100 houses were sold in July, marking a steep decline of 20 percent from July last year.
After the August recovery, overall home sales since the beginning of this year recorded a 7.3 percent decline to 715,501, the TÜİK data also showed.

Higher interest rates, political stability concerns, and the high base effect had all hit Turks’ demand for new residences in recent months.

After a massive hike in January, the Central Bank shaved its benchmark interest rate by 1.75 points over the past three months, also easing mortgage terms for consumers.

House sales to foreigners

TÜİK also announced figures for the number of foreigners who have bought homes in Turkey, revealing that 1,774 properties were purchased by foreigners in August, with the province of Antalya once again the most popular destination.