ANKARA
A property specialist from the United Kingdom has said the Turkish market is entering another decade of strong growth under its new president.
Julian Walker, director at Spot Blue International Property, said the “continuity” offered by the presidency of former prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, combined with strong economic foundations, signaled continued growth for Turkey's property market.
However, it is not thought that this will match the explosive growth seen in the last decade.
"Turkey has the advantage of attracting more Gulf investors than its European neighbors, as demonstrated by its major presence at the Cityscape exhibition in Dubai," Walker told the Anadolu Agency.
The Cityscape event closes today.
Walker said that his company sold at least 30 properties in Istanbul on behalf of developer Enyap Insaat, cementing a strong business relationship and proving a trustworthy gateway to Turkey for foreign investors.
A number of large infrastructure projects will continue to stimulate the Istanbul property market in 2014, in particular on the outer limits of the European side.
“The site of Istanbul’s third airport, set to be the world’s largest, is there and the district will have improved links to the eastern side when the city’s third bridge over the Bosphorus, to the north of the center, opens.
“But arguably the largest impact on Arnavutkoy will be the construction of the Istanbul Canal, Erdogan’s most adventurous project to date, which will connect the Black Sea and Sea of Marmara, transforming the land along its route," Walker said.
Vedat Mavuzer, managing director of Enyap Insaat, told AA: “We’ve had a decade of growth, with real estate values typically rising by 50 percent. I expect this to continue at a similar rate, thanks to the continuity of having Erdogan as president for the next decade.”
The amount of money invested by foreigners in Turkey’s real estate sector has reached $1.26 billion in the first four months of the year - its highest-ever level.
The Turkish economy ministry has said that the rise from January to April of this year reflected a 48 percent increase on the $893 million invested during the same period last year.
The number of foreign investors in Turkey increased after a bill was passed last year to remove the reciprocity law, which allows foreigners to buy property in the country on the condition that Turkish citizens are able to do the same in the buyer’s country.
Additionally, restrictions on the sale of real estate toforeigners were reduced. Europeans not only come to enjoy Turkey’s attractions as tourists — increasing numbers of them are involved in large real estate acquisitions.
Foreigners from Germany, the U.K. and Russia are known for owning lot of Turkish coastal property in beach destinations like Antalya, Fethiye, Kemer and Bodrum.
The ministry’s Foreign Direct Investment Bulletin saidforeigners invested $7.9 billion during the year’s first seven months - a quarter of which was invested in real estate.
A total of 12,485 foreigners of 104 different nationalities purchased 12,543 areas of land and real estate in Turkey during this year’s first five months, according to the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning – 48 percent more than last year.
www.aa.com.tr/en
