News
Crisis triggers property sales to foreigners in Turkey (TR)
Tuesday 29 June 2010
From the foundation of the Republic to April 2008, foreign investors bought almost 39 million m² of real estate assets in Turkey. In the last two years, however, the amount has drastically increased, reaching 25 million m². Britons rank at the top in purchases, followed by Germans and Greeks. The increase in property sales to foreigners has been boosted by slashed prices during the global recession, officials say.
Foreign investors purchased twice as much property in Turkey in the last two years than they did in the past 79, according to data recently released by the General Directorate of Land Registry.

Between the founding of the Republic in 1923 and April 2008, foreign investors bought 38.4 million m² of real estate in Turkey. In the past two years, however, the amount of foreign purchases has risen drastically, reaching 25 million m². According to the data, sales in the last two years were double total sales from 1923 to 2002.

The number of foreign property buyers in Turkey increased to 104,000 from 73,000.

The General Directorate of Land Registry officials said the increase in sales stems from an overall foreign interest in Turkey. It was also dramatically boosted by slashed property prices during the recent recession.

“The crisis-hit European countries have especially shown increased interest in Turkey. These sales created billions of dollars of economic mobility. The foreign ownership of real assets was limited by law in 2008,” said an official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The regulation says the maximum foreign property purchase in a province cannot be more than 0.5% of the entire provincial area. The new law has further limitations: foreigners cannot own more than 10% of property within residentially zoned lands in a given district. And still there is an increase in demand.”

The English bounty
According to May figures, Britons top the list of foreign purchasers, followed by Germans and Greeks. A total of 104,505 foreigners own slightly more than 63 million square meters of immovable assets in Turkey.

Almost 32,000 Britons own slightly more than 6 million m² of immovables, or property that cannot be physically moved from a location. Germans own nearly 3.5 million m² while the Greek own almost 3 million.

Foreigners showed the keenest interest in the southern province of Muðla. The total amount of immovables owned by foreigners in the province increased to almost 5.5 million m². Following Muðla is the southern province of Antalya, where foreigners have slightly more than 5 million m² of real estate assets. The third in-demand province is Ankara. The total amount of immovables owned by foreigners in the capital rose to slightly more than 4 million m². The amount was 2 million m² two years ago.

Germans prefer Antalya the most. In the province, 35,334 foreigners own slightly more than 5 million m² of immovables, almost 2 million m² of which are owned by Germans.

The British dominate in Muðla. In the province, nearly 18,000 foreigners own 5.5 million m² of immovables. In the province 14,153 Britons have slightly more than 3 million m² of real estate.

In Ankara there is again a German majority. A total of 764 Germans own slightly more than 3 million m².

In Istanbul, on the other hand, Arabs are the most eager investors. A total of 53 Egyptians have 230,000 m² of immovables, while the amount is 66,000 m² for 40 Saudi citizens.

Greeks have invested in the northwestern province of Bursa. Almost 5,000 Greeks bought slightly more than 1 million m² of immovables in the province.

Source: Vatan / KERÝM ÜLKER
Print   Send to a friend   Rate   Write comment No ratings for this article
Related articles
    No articles found
Related companies, people, projects
    No relations found
latest news
Marti Group invests 230 million liras in Istanbul's newest suburb (TR) Marti Group Real Estate Investment Trust, or REIT, a subsidiary of the Marti Group that operates in... 8/9/10 06:21
Nabucco to receive €4 billion loan to be functional by 2015 (TR) Three leading international financial institutions are preparing to loan a potential €4 billions to... 8/9/10 06:08
Malatya former tobacco factory sold with 42,300 m² of land (TR) Colliers International Turkey, acting on behalf of BAT, has sold the former tobacco factory in... 25/8/10 04:50
New shopping center in the pipeline for Sultangazi (TR) Emlak Konut REIT is preparing a tender for a new shopping center in Sultangazi, the said shopping... 19/8/10 04:10
Management changes at REDEVCO (NL/TR) Clemens Brenninkmeijer has been appointed Country Manager of REDEVCO Netherlands, effective October... 18/8/10 09:38
Sabanci cement group eyes purchases in neighboring regions (TR) Sabanci Holding cement group President Mehmet Göcmen has said the company has no plans to increase... 17/8/10 03:30
TAV posts 13.9 million liras net profit in first half of 2010 (TR) Turkish airport construction and management company TAV Airports Holding, a joint venture between... 11/8/10 06:24
Triple success for avm mfi partners in Turkey (TR) The mfi joint venture has received the leasing and center management orders for the Kayseri Meysu... 4/8/10 08:40
An interview with Alan Robertson, Managing Director, Jones Lang LaSalle, Turkey During the downturn, many investors’ attention returned to more mature markets, where distressed... 28/7/10 04:54
Foreign investment in Istanbul up more than 27% in H-1 2010 (TR) As the adverse impacts of the global financial crisis on the businesses started to ease, the first... 26/7/10 05:45
Global sites: Amsterdam · Belgium · Emirates · Europe · Germany · Holland · Recruiter · Retail · Rotterdam · Turkey · UK
© 2000 - 2010 Europe Real Estate Publishers. All rights reserved. Contact us. Send your press releases.
 
-