Ministry issues fines for excessive home price hikes

ANKARA

The Trade Ministry has fined over 500 individuals some 55 million Turkish Liras ($2 million) for posting ads for their properties with high asking prices on real estate platforms, as it violates competition.

The ministry has been scrutinizing real estate advertisements on digital platforms.

Officials from the ministry identified 545 individuals who increased the asking price for the homes they put up for sale on digital platforms by 100 percent and more. Officials say such excessive increases violate competition in the real estate market and harm consumers.

Those people were fined 100,000 liras each, or a total of 54.5 million liras, for violating the regulation, which states that those who engage in real estate trade “cannot engage in unfair and unlawful behavior and commercial activities.”

The ministry said in a statement that it continues its detailed investigations and inspections regarding actions that may disrupt the working of the market.

“All speculative actions and misleading advertisements and advertisements which lead to exorbitant prices are carefully examined,” the ministry said.