The year is drawing to a close and as experts start to name the winners and losers of 2013 in the property market, one clear success story is emerging. Turkish real estate has exceeded all expectations this year..
The year is drawing to a close and as experts start to name the winners and losers of 2013 in the property market, one clear success story is emerging. Turkish real estate has exceeded all expectations this year, outperforming the rest of Europe when it comes to price growth. Indeed, as the economy has started to gather pace – notably at a time when many others are simply trying to find their feet – Turkey has pulled away from the rest.
Knight Frank’s latest global house price report from Knight Frank showed home values in the country grew by 12.5 per cent in 2013, taking Turkey to sixth place behind Dubai, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Indonesia. This is certainly thanks to the fast expanding economy, which is serving to restore confidence and draw in investors.
Adil Yaman, director of Istanbul estate agents Universal21, said: “Unlike some of the other fast growing property markets like China, there is no sign yet that Turkey is overheating. Economic growth has proved to be sustainable and there are no plans to take the heat out of the property market as has been the case in China.”
Unemployment remains low and the populations of cities like Istanbul have great spending power. This is driving domestic demand, while overseas buyers have been encouraged by relaxed property laws. “There is simply more competition now as foreign investors move in to take advantage of the high capital growth potential of property,” Mr Yaman added.
In the previous quarter, the Turkish economy grew 4.4 per cent year-on-year, despite the fact the government had revised the growth forecast down from four per cent to 3.6 per cent. By the end of the year, officials are now confident they can end with four per cent growth for 2013 as a whole. Indeed, the economy minister Zafer Caglayan said that the country has grown continually over the last 16 quarters, making it one of the fastest rates of expansion in Europe, the OECD and the G-20.