2.45 houses sold per minute in the first four month
Housing sales increased by 7.42 percent in the first four months of 2017 compared to the same period last year, according to the data collected from TURKSTAT.
Representatives of the real estate sector stated that residential sales to foreigners, which had maintained a downward trend for a while, started to increase in April with the stability and confidence in the Turkish economy following the referendum.
According to Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) data, foreign residential sales increased by 2.7 percent to 1,624 in April compared to the same period in 2016. The total sales figure of the first four months stood at 5,894.
Sector representatives stated that the main reason for the increase in foreign residential sales is the confidence in Turkey and the Turkish economy after the referendum, adding that incentives such as citizenship rights and the value-added tax (VAT) exemption issued by the government have also supported sales.
Nazmi Durbakayım, chairman of the Istanbul Constructors Association (İNDER), told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the residence permit and VAT exception issued to foreign investors prior to April were positive steps.
Durbakayım said the incentives did not have an immediate effect on sales. "Everyone was waiting for the referendum. As a matter of fact, a month's worth of sales was realized in 14 days when the presidential system was accepted immediately after the referendum, and it was obvious that stability would continue," he said, highlighting that both stability and the VAT exemption for foreigners were the basis for the sales in April.
Demir İnşaat Chairman Hamit Demir said: "Stressing that the number of foreign residential buyers increased by half after the referendum, Demir said that only the housing sector increased by half, while the number of foreign investors increased by 100 percent and doubled. "They come here. They say they want to invest in housing, real estate, industry and agriculture, which are also big investments. Foreigners are buying stability. After the referendum, they want to invest in 2017. I hear them saying, 'It can late to invest in 2018, 2019,'" he continued.
Anatolian Side Building Contractors Association (AYİDER) Chairman Melih Tavukçuoğlu said: ""Real estate products in Turkey are still very profitable. The investors interested in our country see this opportunity. Gulf investors in particular feel close to Turkey. They also buy real estate to come and stay here."
source: Daily Sabah
26.05.2017
