Russians topped the list of foreign property buyers in Turkey last year after Iranians had been in the lead for several years, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute.
During 2022, real estate in Turkey has witnessed an unprecedented surge for Russians as they seek shelter for their investments in the wake of the Russian-Ukrainian war that erupted last March.
Russian citizens have topped the list of foreign property buyers in the country, a number that breaks a rule that has prevailed for years after Iranians led the way for several years, as Russians tripled their home purchases in Turkey in 2022 to around 16,300. houses, followed by the Iranians, with about 8,000 houses, while the Iraqis have about 6,000 houses, according to the Turkish census.
Russian purchases last year exceeded all previous six years combined, which amounted to 16.2 thousand houses.
According to a study by the Turkish Economic Policy Research Foundation, net real estate sales to foreign nationals reached $6.3 billion last year, accounting for 78 percent of total foreign direct investment.
The course towards the purchase of real estate by foreigners led by Russians had an insane effect on prices, which caused objection from Turkish citizens.
A poll by Metropoll found that 79% of Turks support a ban on foreign property purchases, while 77% of supporters of the ruling Justice and Development Party also support a ban, according to Bloomberg, giving Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the right choice before elections.
In April 2022, as the country saw an unprecedented influx of Russians and Ukrainians, the Turkish government raised the minimum value of real estate that must be purchased to obtain Turkish citizenship from $250,000 to $400,000.
According to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute, 1.49 million homes were sold in 2022, with the city of Istanbul taking the largest share of these sales with 259.65 thousand homes, or 17.5%, followed by Ankara and Izmir. respectively. .
The data suggests that home sales to foreigners in the country grew last year by 15.2% compared to 2021 and reached 67.49 thousand homes.
Last December alone, Russians bought 2,400 homes in Turkey, compared to 675 from Iranians and 345 from Iraqis, according to detailed figures.
The city of Antalya in southwestern Turkey, located on the Mediterranean coast, was a favorite place for Russians to buy a home, followed by Istanbul.
The number of houses bought by Russians in Turkey breaks down the base of property buyers in the country that has developed over the years. Data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed a large gap in their figure, which is 16.31 thousand houses. , which is twice that of the Iranians.
Turkey is also a favorite destination for Ukrainian citizens fleeing the effects of the ongoing war in their country.
According to the latest statistics, they bought 2,574 houses in the last year alone, ranking sixth after citizens of Kazakhstan, Germany, Iraq, Iran and Russia, and Turkish media reports that the number of houses they bought between March and November 2022 increased 2.2 times year on year.
On the other hand, the Russian-led foreign buying trend has weighed on prices as they doubled to record highs, as contractors and real estate managers have pointed out in recent months.
