Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Investors from the Middle East are the mainstay of foreign property sales in Turkey in 2016, according to statistics from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).
Iraqi citizens bought 276 properties in Turkey in April, more than any other foreign nation, according to TurkStat.
The second largest buying group were Kuwaitis (172 sales), followed by Saudi Arabians (165), Afghans (115) and then Russians (96).
Istanbul property continues to attract most interest from foreign buyers, in particular those from the Middle East. In April, the city attracted 540 sales, with the second most popular area being Antalya (360 sales), followed by Bursa (116) and Yalova (71).
In total, in April foreigners bought 1,581 properties across the whole of Turkey.
“There has been a dip in interest in Turkish property from European buyers, largely due to uncertainty caused by the crisis in neighbouring Syria,” said Julian Walker, director at International property agent Spot Blue. “However, the Middle Eastern market remains buoyant and we are seeing new areas such as Bursa beginning to attract attention.”
In March 2016, Istanbul successfully hosted the first ever Cityscape Turkey property exhibition, an event previously associated with the United Arab Emirates and aimed at attracting Arab investors to visit the city.
Recognizing the ongoing interest from Gulf buyers, Turkish Airlines now flies to most Middle Eastern countries. The carrier now operates in no less than seven destinations in Saudi Arabia, including Jeddah, Riyadh, Madinah, Dammam, Yanbu, Taif and Al Qassim. The airline recently introduced seven weekly flights from Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen Airport to Jeddah and Riyadh and four weekly flights to Medina.
Photo Credit: Klaus Mokosch via Compfight cc
