Property sales soar in Turkey, foreign demand declines

ANKARA

House sales in Turkey surged 17.8 percent in September, although sales to foreigners declined by roughly 28 percent, according to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) on Sept. 24.

House sales soared 17.8 percent year-on-year in September to reach 108,918 units sold.      
 
Mortgaged house sales throughout Turkey totaled 4,083 units, up 46.7 percent year-on-year, indicating that more buyers preferred to purchase a home through home loans due to attractive interest rates.    
  
Some 38.6 percent of all house sales in Turkey were house sales with mortgages, according to the report.        
However, house sales to foreigners went down by 27.8 percent – 1,276 units sold – compared to the same month of the previous year.        

The top destinations for foreign investors were Antalya with 359 sales, followed by Istanbul at 323, Bursa at 82, Aydın at 69 and Trabzon and Yalova at 67 house sales each. 

Iraqi citizens bought 230 properties in Turkey in September, followed by Saudi Arabians at 140, Russians at 99, Kuwaitis at 85 and Brits at 84 units.