From January to August this year, an unprecedented amount of residential real estate was sold to foreigners in Turkey. This follows from the statistics of the real estate market, which is recovering from the effects of the pandemic.
Buyers from Western countries are showing great interest. In the first eight months, about 30,849 homes were sold to foreigners, 47.6 percent more than last year, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), according to Dailu Sabah.
Sales have been on the rise for most of the year, except in May, after the government imposed a similar ban on COVID-19 cases. All measures were canceled in June.
In May, the lowest level of sales this year was recorded, and sales to foreigners amounted to only 1,776 homes. In July and August, sales began to resume.
Istanbul sold the most real estate to foreigners – 14,788 houses, followed by the southern city of Antalya with 5,897 units, the capital Ankapa with 1,988, Mersin with 1,410 houses and Yalova with 939 units.
The largest number of foreign buyers are from Spain. From January to August, they bought 4,631 properties, followed by Iranians – 4,600, Russians – 2,575 houses, Afghans – 1,819 and Germans – 1,186.
However, total housing sales in Turkey in the first eight months fell by 21.7% to 801,995 units.
“The country’s real estate market is considered a quiet haven and has always attracted investment. Foreign investors still view Turkey as a quiet haven,” the industry spokesman said.