Turkey has "huge potential" to sell more property
Photo credit: Victor Radziun
Turkey has "huge potential" to sell over twice as much property every year, according to agents. The country's property market has boomed in recent months, with the number of sales of foreign buyers hitting a record high.
In May, figures from TurkStat show that sales to non-residents have risen 19 per cent in the first months of 2015 compared to the same period of 2014. Sales peaked in May 2015, when transactions rose 21.3 per cent year-on-year to a record of 1,982.
8,097 properties were bought by foreigners between January and May. Across a year, this strong performance leads to around 25,000 properties being sold to foreign buyers every year. Cushman & Wakefield, though, says that Turkey has a "huge potential" to boost that number. Indeed, the country constructs around 700,000 homes a year.
Haluk Sur, the head of the consultancy in Turkey, says that Turkey could sell 60,000 properties to foreigners annually, almost three times its current amount.
"Turkey needs to develop solid policies to lure foreign buyers who want to use their potential homes in Turkey for several weeks or months, rather than others who buy many properties just to sell on later or rent out," Sur tells the Hürriyet Daily News.
"There are no obstacles to Turkey reaching this volume. The country must, however, act very carefully on the road to achieving this goal," he adds. "The sector needs to focus on selling properties to foreigners who will use them with their families or for themselves, rather than potential buyers who make huge volumes of acquisitions in order to create big price fluctuations in the market."
Indeed, the rate of price growth in Turkey has sparked concerns from some that the country could be entering a price bubble. Values surged 16.54 per cent year-on-year in May, according to the Association of Real Estate Investment Companies in Turkey (GYODER), of which Sur is also an executive board member.
Sur highlights the over-demand for property in Istanbul, in particular, as a factor both fuelling price growth and hindering the country's widespread growth.
"Acquisitions should spread to a wider geographical location at different price scales. When such a market is created, Turkey will be a very attractive market for foreigners,” he continues.
The country has been an established presence in the 10 most popular countries on TheMoveChannel.com for many months. Demand on TheMoveChannel.com is primarily driven by opportunities and developments in Istanbul.