Prospects for investors in Turkey are looking rosy for 2015, after recent data showed the economy there recorded a 9.8 per cent year-on-year rise in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first eight months of 2014, while the average price of new homes rose by more than seven per cent in October compared to the same month last year.
FDI in Turkey hit $8.6billion for the January-August period, according to Turkey’s Ministry of Economy, with the manufacturing sector recording the highest portion of investment ($2.1 billion) and 63 per cent of all investments originating from the European Union. This compares favorably with Turkey’s FDI for the whole of 2013, which was $12.9 billion.
“Attracting more foreign money and strengthening exports should have a positive knock-on effect for Turkey’s real estate market, in particular in Istanbul,” said Julian Walker, director at Spot Blue International Property. “Property in Istanbul continues to see annual rises with on-going demand, in particular from the Middle East.”
Claim up to $26,000 per W2 Employee
- Billions of dollars in funding available
- Funds are available to U.S. Businesses NOW
- This is not a loan. These tax credits do not need to be repaid
Meanwhile, the REIDIN-GYODER released in November showed that prices of new homes in Turkey increased 7.3 per cent in October compared to the same month last year. The Index also showed that prices in new developments on Istanbul’s European side recorded a 0.07 per cent month-on-month decrease while on the city’s Asian side this figure was an increase of 0.44 per cent.
“A large proportion of our clients today are from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait,” added Mr Walker. “Most want a convenient, modern apartment in an up-and-coming suburb of Istanbul, which they treat as a lifestyle or rental investment. For a variety of reasons, Bahcesehir and Belikduzu are especially popular, not least because they’ve become fashionable hubs for more affluent Turkish people.”
In terms of prices of new apartments, one-bed one-bath units rose 0.81 per cent month-on-month in October, while two-bed one-bath units dropped 1.3 per cent. Meanwhile, three-bed one-bath units increased 1.46 per cent and four-bed one-bath one per cent.
Also encouraging is new data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), which revealed that overall property sales in September were up 13.2 per cent from September last year, with a hike in purchases by foreigners up a hefty 81 per cent.
Non Turks generated 13,611 real estate transactions between January and September 2014, reported TUIK, which already surpasses the total for the whole of 2013 (12,181). Antalya accounted for the highest number of sales to foreigners by province, namely 590, with many likely to have been in the resorts of Alanya, Side, Belek, Kalkan and the city of Antalya. Istanbul had the second highest number of sales (546), followed by the province of Aydin (144). Mugla and Mersin provinces were also popular places for foreigners to buy.
