Association in talks with financial institutions for new housing model

ISTANBUL

The Real Estate Investors Association (GYODER) is holding talks with public and private sectors, pension funds, government officials and financial institutions from the Netherlands, China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates regarding its rental housing project.

The association unveiled its project dubbed the “New Housing Model” in July, which foresees the construction of houses only to be rented as a solution to the growing housing problem in Türkiye.

This is a public-private partnership project, said Mehmet Kalyoncu, the president of GYODER. “We have been working on a model which will focus on producing residential properties not for sale but to be rented.”

The model is based on private companies building houses for rental purposes on public lands, he explained.

“There will be an upper limit for rents for those houses. Contractors will be allowed to sell 10 percent of the homes built as well as the commercial units developed under the project.”

The public will still own the land plot on which the project is developed, he said.

Under this scheme, households will spend only 30 percent of their income, according to Kalyoncu. “Living standards will improve. Due to low rents, the surrounding areas will also become cheaper.”

Most people in Türkiye want to own a house for many reasons to avoid problems with landlords and sharp rent increases, Kalyoncu said. “But we need to explain to people that being a tenant is not a bad thing,” Kalyoncu said, noting the homeownership rate is 34 percent in Switzerland.

They have held talks with the officials from the Ümraniye, Şişli, Avcılar and Başakşehir municipalities in Istanbul, while they are seeking an appointment with the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality to discuss the project, according to Kalyoncu.

Regarding the financing for the project, they are cooperating with five banks and held talks with the Central Bank and the Capital Markets Board (SPK), he said.

They are also in talks with people and institutions from the Netherlands, China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, including China State Construction Engineering and ICBC, Kalyoncu added.