2026/01/20 15:57:57

Real estate in Turkey

Content

Low level of protection of buildings against earthquakes
Chronicle
See also

Main article: Economy of Turkey

Low level of protection of buildings against earthquakes

In Turkey, since the 1960s, the authorities have regularly issued "construction amnesty" - a massive forgiveness of violations in the field of building safety. The last wave of such amnesty came in 2018, and soon a new one was planned.

In total, there are about 13 million buildings in the country built "under amnesty." At the same time, the country is located on tectonic faults, where each building should be designed with a maximum safety margin.

The huge number of victims and destruction during earthquakes in Turkey was a direct consequence of irresponsible construction policies. Even Turkish engineers call such amnesties a crime. But instead of revising the approach, the authorities are only expanding indulgences.

Chronicle

2025: Russians for the fourth year in a row became the leaders in buying housing in Turkey - 3,649 objects were acquired (-25%)

In 2025, Russians purchased 3,649 objects in Turkey and for the fourth year in a row became the leaders in buying housing in the country. Despite maintaining leadership, interest from Russians has been declining for the third year in a row: it is inferior to 2024 25% year (4.86 thousand) and 65.4% less than 2023 year (10.56 thousand). This is evidenced by Turkstat data released in January 2026. The impact on the fall in demand is not the most stable economic situation in Turkey and the tightening of the conditions for issuing a residence permit, the rise in housing prices, as well as the exhaustion of demand in general.^[1]

2023: A 35% decline in property sales in April. Russians remain leaders in demand for Turkish housing

Sales of Turkish real estate decreased by 35.6% in April 2023 on an annualized basis. A total of 85,652 properties were sold. Most of the real estate was sold in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. The average cost of residential buildings in Turkey was $120,000.

The interest of foreign investors in Turkey has noticeably cooled and at this time it is at the level of 2020 indicators, that is, "at the bottom."

In April, citizens of other states purchased only 1,272 real estate objects in Turkey, which is 50.3% less than a year by year, according to the Turkish Bureau of Statistics (TUIK).

Assets in Antalya (454), Istanbul (407) and Mersin (149) are still in greatest demand.

Most of the transactions still fall on Russians, they cleaned up 293 objects in April. But this is three times less than in 2023.

2022

Turkey is the world leader in rising real estate prices - 160% per year

By the end of 2022, Turkey became the world leader in increasing real estate rental prices. They increased by 160.6% compared to the previous year. In December, residential prices in Turkey rose 164% year-on-year.

Real estate sales for the year decreased slightly - by 0.4% compared to 2021.

Demand among foreigners is growing: they bought 67,490 properties in 2022. This is 15.2% more than in 2021. Most often, housing was bought in Istanbul, Antalya and Mersin.

Russians come out on top in the number of purchased real estate in Turkey

Russians have become leaders in buying apartments in Turkey. In 2022, foreigners acquired 61.74 thousand residential buildings in Turkey, which is 20.23% more than in the same period last year, the Bureau of Statistics Turkey(TURKSTAT) reported.

The first place among foreigners who purchased residential real estate in Turkey was taken by Russians. They accounted for 13.9 thousand lots.

In August 2022, Russians bought almost 1,300 real estate objects in Turkey. For 8 months of 2022, citizens Russia purchased more than 8,100 objects in the country. For 8 months of the year, they acquired 51% more objects than for the entire last year.

In October 2022, Russian citizens purchased 2 thousand houses and apartments in Turkey, overtaking all other foreign home buyers in this country, TURKSTAT reported.

In November 2022, Russian citizens purchased 2,575 houses and apartments in Turkey, overtaking all other foreign home buyers in this country - TURKSTAT.