Investing in a better life: Investment property in Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul has always been widely popular in world circles. Many, when mentioning the main city of Turkey, call Istanbul, not Ankara. Istanbul is truly an accumulation of world capital. The point where east and west converge, Europe and Asia. Crossroads and crossroads of destinies.

According to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT), nationwide house prices in Turkey rose 30.6% during the year to the first quarter of 2021, to an average of 4054 Turkish Lira ($ 502) per square meter (sq m). ...

In Istanbul, Turkey's largest city and most expensive housing market, the average home price rose 20.8% during the year to the first quarter of 2021 to 6,312 Turkish Lira (782 USD) per sqm. Adjusted for inflation, house prices rose 4.5% year on year.

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), in 2020 the total number of home sales in Turkey increased by 11.2% to almost 1.5 million units, in contrast to the 1.9% decline in 2019 and 2.4%. in 2018. Home sales rose 11.5% in Istanbul and 18.6% in Ankara.

Turkey's economy grew 1.8% during 2020, becoming one of the few countries in the world to avoid a contraction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The growth was mainly driven by a surge in credit in mid-2020, with lending to state-owned banks nearly doubled in 2020 from a year earlier.

In Istanbul, which accounts for 18% of transactions, home sales rose 11.5% year-on-year to 265,098 units.

Overseas home purchases more than doubled to nearly 46,000 units between 2017 and 2019, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat). Iranians and Iraqis accounted for nearly a third of all foreign purchases during this period.

The majority of foreign buyers bought homes in Istanbul, accounting for about 46% of total annual sales, followed by Antalya (20%), Ankara (6%) and Bursa (5%).

Since January 2017, Turkey has been granting citizenship to foreigners in a variety of ways, including the purchase of real estate worth at least US $ 1 million. In September 2018, new rules were introduced to reduce the amount of investment required to obtain Turkish citizenship:

• Buying a property worth at least $ 250,000 now grants you citizenship.

• Or a fixed capital investment of USD 500,000.

• Or keep at least US $ 500,000 in a Turkish bank account for at least three years, up from the previously set limit of US $ 3 million;

• Or the creation of 50 jobs instead of 100 jobs.