It is expected that the real estate sector is awaiting a stream of record sales to foreigners after the Covid closures. Sector representatives state that they expect 15 thousand houses to be sold within 3 months.
Within the scope of the fight against Kovid-19, it is expected that the Turkish real estate industry will experience its brightest days amid house sales to foreigners, right after the 18-day full closure restrictions.
Experts claim, with the elimination of the restriction on travel between countries, there will be a heavy traffic of foreign investors flocking to the country materialising the delayed demand putting the sales on surge.
President of the Real Estate Overseas Promotion Association (GİGDER) and Nevita Chairman Ömer Faruk Akbal stated that Turkey is a paradise for both expatriates and European retirees. He said “Arabs mostly buy for investment purposes, while Europeans buy to live.”
GLOBAL MARKETS HAVE LOST STEAM
Faruk Akbal emphasized that the real estate market all over the world has lost steam during the pandemic and that Turkey is one of the countries least affected in the process, stating that Turkey’s successful performance in the health sector during the pandemic period also attracted great attention from foreign investors. Akbal said, “The performance we exhibited during this pandemic was extremely effective and has played a very positive role in strengthening the European investors’ perception of Turkey. We think that the accumulated foreign demand will explode with the opening of the full closure”.
WE ARE STRONG IN HEALTH
Noting that the number of housing sales increased by 9 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year, one of Turkey’s most prominent development company NEF’s Executive Committee Member Selçuk Çelik pointed out that such an increase in the pandemic was unseen in Europe. Çelik said, “On the contrary, in countries such as Italy, France, England and Spain, there were dramatic decreases between 10 and 25 percent. Sales will increase significantly after the holiday” he said, stating that Turkey’s power in the health sector makes the country prominent in housing sales to foreigners. Çelik said, “It is a fact that the interest of Europeans in purchasing housing especially in Istanbul and the provinces in the south will continue, with the effect of the increasing exchange rate and the ongoing purchase of 250 thousand dollars of citizenship.”
IRAN, IRAQ AND RUSSIA TAKE PLACE IN THE TOP 3
Noting that a serious increase is expected in the real estate sector after the full closure period, Hakan Bucak said, ” The full closure will be followed by a productive period for the sector. Just like tourism, the real estate sector will revive, too. Looking at the sales figures between January and March for the country rankings where these foreign investors are coming from we see Iran topping the list with 1,599 sales, seconded by Iraq with 1,461 house purchases, followed by Russia with 938 houses. The list continues with sales to countries such as Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Germany and Yemen”, he said.
RECORD SALES TARGET IN 3 MONTHS
Emphasizing that record sales are expected due to the demand that has been held back during the complete closure period, Mars Investment General Manager Hakan Bucak said, “The most productive period of the sector will begin after the complete closure. Just like tourism, the real estate sector will also revive. With the effect of the accumulation of a very intense demand in the initial 3-month period following the full closure, “A record performance is expected to be achieved with 12 to 15 thousand house sales in total”.
You can access the original Turkish copy of this article first published on Sabah newspaper’s online edition here.