Turkey's booming population boosts property market
Photo credit: Victor Radziun
According to new data from the Turkish Statistical Institute, TurkStat, the country's population has broken the 77 million mark to stand at 77.7 million. That marks a record high for Turkey, as well as an increase of more than 1 million from 2013, when the population stood at around 76.7 million.
That substantial year-on-year increase is boosting demand for property and, in turn, fuelling the real estate market, according to agents.
Indeed, Turkey's real estate has become increasingly sought-after among overseas investors in recent years. Figures from the Turkish land Registry Directorate recently revealed that the number of foreigners purchasing real estate during the first 10 months of 2014 rose from 8,000 (in the same period in 2013) to 20,000.
At the same time, Turkish visa applications are rising rapidly, as a growing number of people from overseas visit the country, with many planning to stay permanently. 6.1 million people used Turkey's online visa application in 2014, according to the Turkish foreign ministry.
This trend contributes to the country's expanding population, although Universal21 notes that the number of people can vary across the country. Indeed, there is an 0.5 per cent increase in the number of people choosing to make a city home in 2014. Even then, though, not all cities are equal, with Istanbul dominating much of demand.
The north-western city, famed as being the country's largest, albeit not the capital, is facing a growing need for more housing to meet its booming population size. With 18.5 per cent of the Turkish population now residing in the city, Istanbul is Turkey's most populated province, placing increased pressure on the city's housing stock.
Adil Yaman, Director of Universal21, comments: "With the recent gains in population, Istanbul is now surging ahead of Turkey's second most populous city, the capital Ankara, which houses 6.6 per cent.
"The knock-on effect of this huge population surge is that it has given rise to the question: where will all these people find homes?"
One popular hotspot within the city is Beylikdüzü. With a name meaning 'Plains of the Beylik', the neighbourhood has an upmarket reputation, inhabited by middle classes, 40 per cent of whom have a university degree (according to a survey by the municipal council). Here, TurkStat have shown that the numbers of those residing have increased by 5.8 per cent over the last year, from 248,056 in 2013 to 262,473 as of 2014.
Universal21 is launching projects near the town Centre of Old Beylikdüzü to try and appease that local demand, but also attract investors to fund them. One such is Tulip Residence, which is made up of studios, one bed and two bedroom apartments.
"With 2,767 people per square kilometre, coupled with the fact that Istanbul is an ever-more popular tourist destination on its own merit too, today there are fantastic investment opportunities for those looking to purchase property in the city," adds Yaman.
Indeed, Turkey climbed up two places in TheMoveChannel.com's Top of the Props chart in January 2015, increasing its share of enquiries on the international site to become the seventh most popular property destination in the world. Among investors looking to buy in Turkey, searches for Istanbul property surged 80 per cent in June 2014 compared to June 2012.
"Istanbul is certainly a hot 2015 prospect," concludes Yaman.