Turkey Property UK

Why should you consider buying property in Turkey?

The Turkish Property Market: Coming of age

Turkey is inching ever close to joining the Euro and is preparing itself for a greater influx of tourists, higher levels of foreign investment and a need to improve communications and accessibility. The country has committed to significant reforms to strengthen its democracy and stabilise its economy and as it moves closer to full EU membership, now anticipated in 2015, more global brands are committing to the real estate sector and practices are already improving to equal EU standards. This bodes exceptionally well for the long tern future of the market.

Cooperation with foreign buyers

Turkey is moving forward in its cooperation with foreign property buyers. The government has recognised that it needed to ease the buying process in order to attract outside investment and legislation has now been passed to allow foreign ownership. The system is fundamentally sound with legalities - freehold, land registries and title deeds now identical to those in the UK. Additional military checks stop any local municipality making a deliberate mistake about what land is built on and are an added safeguard.

Tourism growth

As well as implementing positive changes to Turkish property law, the government is working hard to boost tourism figures increasing the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's budget from US$ 70m to 120m in 2009. The 'Euro 25' plan, a long term strategy to promote the country internationally and invest money in tourism and infrastructure has so far been productive, with 23m visitors recorded in 2007 and a total of 25m predicted to have been reached in 2008, and a 48% growth in foreign investment over the last 5 years.

Last year Turkey was named Golf Destination of the Year after developing golf resorts in the major tourist hotspots in the south of the country. We understand that the government has pledged to fund construction of more than 100 golf courses in the next few years, with eleven projects currently being approved in the Didim (Altinkum and Kusadasi) area. The government is focussing on aesthetic concerns and favourable water supply when projects are approved.

Rental yields can be high

With increased spending on promotional campaigns, tourism continues to grow and Turkey subsequently offers foreign buyers an attractive investment opportunity. With a long summer season, cheap property prices while the country remains outside the Euro and no capital gains tax after five years, rental yields can be high. This looks sustainable as the market is by no means saturated and the Chamber of Commerce recently announced a housing shortfall of around 350,000 homes, providing investors with a neat exit strategy in the domestic market. Around 70% of Turkey's 70m inhabitants are under 30 so the country has a very strong market for residential real estate.

Turkey should remain an appealing spot for overseas buyers because it is an ideal holiday destination with a mild climate, superb leisure facilities, easy access all year round, a rich cultural history and a beautiful coastline accompanied by the most competitive prices per square metre in Europe. It appeals to people attracted to countries such as Spain, Portugal and Greece because of its relatively low cost of living.

Advantages over other markets

Turkey has advantages over other emerging markets from which it could face competition. Emerging Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria, which has a short summer season, under developed infrastructure and highly exaggerated rental income. Egypt too, though its winter climate is better than that of Turkey, is disadvantaged by summers that are far too hot for many Europeans and it lesser economic and political stability than that on offer in Turkey.

Mortgages available

Turkey's economy is now the 16th largest in the world and has been identified by the US Department of Commerce and the World Bank as one of the ten most promising emerging economies. Turkey has not been affected by the credit crunch because the mortgage market is very new and more than 90% of houses are debt free, meaning the banking sector is very healthy. In fact mortgages only became available to foreigners last year and it is relatively easy to obtain funding for a property investment. Contact us for the latest interest rates and information.