Annual decline in home prices in real terms continues
ANKARA
The residential property price index (RPPI) rose by 31.9 percent annually but declined by 7.2 percent in real terms in January, data from the Central Bank showed on Feb. 18.
Home prices have been on the decline in real terms for months now.
But the pace of decline in the index in real terms last month slowed from December’s 10.4 percent.
The RPPI advanced by 4.7 percent month-on-month in January, accelerating from the 1.98 percent increase recorded in December, the bank said.
Home prices in Istanbul rose by 29.6 percent compared to January of last year, while prices in Ankara and İzmir, the country’s third-largest city, increased by 37 percent and 29.6 percent, respectively.
The index for new dwellings rose 33.9 percent year-on-year in nominal terms last month, up from 28.6 percent in December, while the index increased 5.2 percent monthly, accelerating from 0.97 percent.
The housing market saw another double-digit annual increase in sales in January, with mortgage-financed sales soaring 183 percent.
In January, 112,173 homes changed hands, a 39.7 percent rise from a year ago. This, however, marked the lowest level in the last eight months.
Mortgaged home sales soared 183 percent last month year-on-year to 16,726 units, accounting for 14.9 percent of all sales.
First-home sales rose by 29.8 percent in January to reach 32,785, while second-hand sales grew 44.2 percent year-on-year to 79,388.
