Turkish Real Estate Market: Is It Worth Buying an Apartment There?

Content:

• Introduction
• Investment attractiveness of different regions of Turkey
• Istanbul: First Among Equals
• Ankara is a great place to live
• Bursa – another place for permanent residence
• Turkey's Resort Property – A Paradise for Investors
• Mugla
• Izmir
• Antalya
• Aydin
• Dark Horse for Investors – Mersin
• Summary and advice from Deniz-Estate

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a lot of new challenges both around the world in various sectors of the economy and in the investment sector in particular. “Where is it better to invest during a pandemic?” is one of the popular questions of small and medium-sized investors. Such interest is understandable and natural, investors are trying to save their money. Let's try to understand the investment attractiveness of the Mediterranean countries and, in particular, why it is worth investing in the Turkish real estate market and starting to do so right now. Despite the economic crises and the unexpected pandemic, Turkey remains among the top leaders in investment attractiveness for long-term investments for the purpose of making a profit or second citizenship. Its competitors are Asia, Western European countries, including Spain, and Arab countries. What is contributing to such excitement in the real estate market, what are the prices for apartments in Turkey and is it worth investing there during a pandemic?

Investment attractiveness of different regions of Turkey

Is it worth buying an apartment in Turkey? The answer to this question depends on your goals. Goal 1 – residence permit . If you want to move to Turkey for permanent residence or even obtain citizenship, you should consider buying an apartment or house in prestigious, but not resort regions. Here, real estate will be cheaper, but you will get access to excellent Turkish infrastructure (markets, plenty of shops, cafes, restaurants, free kindergartens, etc.). These are the characteristics of housing in Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa and similar cities.

Istanbul: First Among Equals

Istanbul is an ideal place for both buying a home for yourself and choosing investment properties. Istanbul can rightfully be considered the business center of Turkey, however, in addition to this, it is also related to resort real estate. The city is located on the Bosphorus Strait and has its own resort coasts with access to the Sea of Marmara. If you are choosing housing for yourself in order to obtain a residence permit or just live in Turkey for some time, pay attention to inexpensive areas. These include: Güngören, Sancaktepe, Sultangazi, Sultanbeyli, Esenyurt. On average, the cost of housing in these areas is about 0.4 million Turkish lira or about €35,000, if you use the average statistical data indicated by analytics portals. However, we, working with real estate in Istanbul, can safely say that these figures show the cost of a rather shabby "secondary", and the real cost of good housing in the specified areas of Istanbul will be about € 130,000 – € 150,000. If you are interested in investing to earn money from rent, you can choose more expensive areas. The return on investment there will be higher (on average, in inexpensive areas, investments are returned in 15 years, in expensive ones – about 22 years). But this is solely due to the high cost of the real estate itself. Although the rent for housing can be almost twice as high. Such areas include: Besiktas, Adalar, Beykoz, Bakirkoy, Kadikoy, Sariyer and Şile.

Ankara is a great place to live

Ankara is one of the fastest growing and greenest cities in Turkey. The attractiveness of life here is characterized by the intensively developing infrastructure of the city. We recommend buying a home in Ankara if you decide to move to Turkey for permanent residence. Renting a home here is not profitable, because Ankara is one of the three cities in Turkey with the strongest growth in rent. This year (data for 2021), rent for renting housing in Ankara has increased by 14%. Only Istanbul is ahead with a growth of 26% and Izmir with a growth of 17%. But this is a good argument for investors to take a closer look not only at resort real estate. Especially for those who invest in Turkish housing for rent. Why is Ankara so attractive for buying and investing in real estate? First of all, because of its large-scale infrastructure projects:

• The Mamak district is being thoroughly rebuilt. Dozens of new high-rise buildings are appearing on the hills instead of slums, the district is being landscaped and developed according to modern principles.
• The resettlement of emergency housing in Dikmen, a small suburban village, and the construction of the Dikmen-Kızılay metro line continue.
• Over the past two years, Ankara has added six million square meters of green space to its existing ten parks.
• Several high-speed trains have been launched between Ankara and Istanbul.
• Ankara and Istanbul are also connected by a modern motorway.
• For owners of electric vehicles, the city is intensively building charging stations, of which there are already hundreds (near almost every hotel).
• This year (data for 2021) the National Garden of the AKM was opened.

Five Ankara districts with the fastest rising house prices

Bursa is another great place for permanent residence

An alternative to consider is the city of Bursa. This is the former capital of the Ottoman Empire, and now the fourth most populous Turkish city after Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Bursa is landlocked, but it is a major economic and industrial center, and therefore the infrastructure here is developing at an explosive pace, and housing shows stable trends towards price increases. For example, the most expensive district of Bursa, Gemlik, showed a 45.1% increase in housing prices from May 2020 to May 2021. Less expensive districts of Yildirim and Osmangazi – 19% each. The most affordable housing in Yildirim will cost you $ 250 per square meter. That is, an apartment of 35 square meters can be bought for only $ 8,750. The five most expensive (and attractive to investors) districts of Bursa

Goal 2. Investments in real estate for earnings. In this case, of course, it is better to consider options for resort real estate.

Turkey's Resort Property – A Paradise for Investors

If you are wondering whether it is worth buying an apartment in Turkey for profit and preserving investments, the best option in this case is resort real estate. The leader in this class of housing is undoubtedly Izmir, where the increase in the cost of resort housing over the year was 78%. Next are: Fethiye (Mugla province), Serik (the outskirts of the resort of Belek, Antalya province), Didim (Aydin province, with the resort of Kusadasi), Bodrum, where the population in the summer period approached a million (Mugla again); then Milas (Mugla province), Cesme (Izmir province), Dosemealti (Antalya province) and Kusadasi (Aydin province). The fork of the increase in the cost of housing in percentage terms in these areas was 55-69%. In total, these are four provinces – Mugla, Izmir, Antalya and Aydin. The most expensive real estate here is in Bodrum (€1,335.44 per square meter) and Cesme (€1,415.79 per square meter), according to analysts at Hepsiemlak. Although, again, in our experience, the prices are significantly underestimated.

Bodrum (Mugla)

The most popular district of Mugla Province is Bodrum. This is truly the most international region of Turkey. In the summer season, its population increases to almost a million residents due to tourists from all over the world, although the native inhabitants of the city are only forty thousand. Bodrum is located in the southwest of the country, on the coast of the Aegean Sea. There are many restaurants, entertainment, vibrant nightlife and an eternal holiday atmosphere. Along with this, there are many ancient and medieval monuments, there are places to go on excursions if you love historical heritage.

Izmir

The third largest city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara, and the country's second port after Istanbul. The population is about three million people. It is located on the coast of the Izmir Gulf of the Aegean Sea, at the foot of Mount Kadi-Fekale (Pagos). Izmir is a rapidly developing metropolis with a rich history, it is here that the ruins of the biblical city of Smyrna are located. It is an ancient cultural and financial center, one of those mentioned in the Revelation of John the Theologian. In addition, Izmir is famous for its vibrant business life and many young people due to several large universities located here.

Alanya (Antalya)

One of the oldest and for a long time the largest resorts in Turkey on the Mediterranean coast. However, in 2020, it was overtaken in size by the resort of Side. Antalya is one of the warmest provinces of Turkey, here even in the open ground banana trees grow and bananas ripen. The resort is very popular with Germans, which is why Alanya has long been labeled as a “German resort”. There are also historical sights here, although not as many as in other places. Alanya is rightfully considered the tourist capital of Turkey. This city has experienced an incredible rise in tourist popularity due to its geographical position and good location. Alanya is the pearl of the Mediterranean, a kind of Monte Carlo in Turkey. Buying an apartment in Alanya today is not only prestigious, but also profitable.

Snow-white fine sand, crystal clear azure water, magnificent access to the sea and incredible views of the mountainous coastline are the factors that have made Alanya so popular. The Germans were among the first to appreciate the city's tourist potential and began buying up real estate here. New infrastructure projects are constantly being implemented in the city itself, and the Turkish authorities are paying very serious attention to the city. Kindergartens, schools, playgrounds, and sports grounds for teenagers and adults are being built here, where you can play sports for free. The municipal authorities are developing diving – there are many underwater historical monuments in the area of the fortress. Golf tourism is even developing here and a ski resort is even getting ready to open. Therefore, the tourist appeal of Alanya is constantly growing and will grow even higher. [special_block]

Aydin

This is the territory of the ancient state of Lydia. In addition, in the past, the administrative center of the province of Aydin was a large pirate center, the entire state of Emir Umur. It is located in the western part of Turkey, in the valley of the Great Menderes River, and near the city of Aydin are the Aydin Mountains with a height of up to 1800 meters.

Dark Horse for Investors – Mersin

Interestingly, the city of Mersin has been in the top ten for monthly housing price growth several times during the current summer (2021). What is the reason for this dynamic? We assume that it is due to the following:

• Firstly, the first nuclear power plant in Turkey is being built here, and this year the third power unit was already laid. This station, after commissioning, will provide about 10% of the country's electricity needs. However, the very presence of the station has a city-forming function, because it stimulates the development of industrial potential in the region, and therefore the creation of new jobs. It follows that Mersin will develop intensively and housing there will quickly become more expensive.
• Secondly, the municipality is interested in creating a metro in the city and has already begun negotiations on this issue.
• Thirdly, old and dilapidated buildings are being intensively restored.
• New entertainment and leisure facilities are also beginning to open in the city, for example, a new cultural centre recently opened.

Summary and advice from Deniz-Estate

If you are seriously asking the question: is it worth buying an apartment in Turkey, our answer is definitely yes. But the location already requires a more detailed study of the topic:

• You need to decide why you are buying an apartment or house in Turkey? If you are buying a residence permit, you might want to consider cities that are not on the resort coasts. Housing is usually a little cheaper here.
• When the goal is clear, contact our specialists for advice. Deniz-Estate will work out your requests in detail and offer the best options.
• Pay attention to Alanya, it is a great city both for living and for real estate investment. With the opening of the ski resort, the tourist life of Alanya will experience another surge.