Freehold property ownership for Gulf nationals in Turkey

With the Turkish government's decision to amend the property law regarding foreign ownership in Turkey in 2012 and the abolition of the "reciprocity" condition, aiming to attract more foreign investments, which was considered a radical change in Turkish law, as a result of this law, citizens of 183 countries were allowed to buy real estate in Turkey. Citizens of Arab countries were allowed to own real estate after it was previously prohibited based on the "reciprocity" principle, and with this, Arabs began to purchase properties in Turkey, with Gulf citizens leading in real estate investment in Turkey.

According to a report written by "Meltem Kara" in Posta newspaper: "Turkey's real estate sales to foreigners witnessed an increase of 86.1%. According to the data of the Land Registry Directorate, in the first quarter of the year (2019), about 2.5 million square meters were sold to 11,198 foreign citizens, while this number last year was around 1.3 million square meters, and the number of foreign buyers in Turkey was about 5,845 citizens. Thus, the increase rate reached 86.1%, which is a record increase by all means."

Gulf Citizens' Freehold Ownership of Real Estate in Turkey - Increasing Rates

The rate of Turkish real estate sales to citizens of the Gulf countries continues to increase year after year. The share of Gulf citizens in the sales of the first three months of 2019, which amounted to 2.5 million square meters, was 868 thousand square meters, sold to 4,467 Gulf citizens. The percentage of Arab purchases of the total sales was about 35%.

While Gulf citizens bought 308 thousand square meters last year, and the number of buyers was 2,196 people, which indicates a doubling of the Gulf citizens' demand for purchasing real estate and homes in Turkey.

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Investment of Asian Countries in Turkey's Real Estate

In the first quarter of the current year, China, South Korea, and Iran were among the top ten countries whose citizens chose real estate investment in Turkey. Although the number of sales transactions was low for Chinese and South Korean citizens, the total percentage sales achieved a good figure.

For example: Saudi purchases of real estate in Turkey reached 336 thousand square meters, purchased by 396 investors, ranking first in terms of purchase volume.

As for Chinese purchases, they reached 321 thousand square meters by 98 Chinese investors.

The purchases by South Korean citizens amounted to 229 thousand square meters, purchased by 13 investors.

Meanwhile, Iraqi purchases amounted to 266 thousand square meters, purchased by two thousand Iraqi investors.

Read also our article about: Freehold Ownership in Turkey for Saudis - Procedures and Top Tips

Investment in Turkey and Obtaining Citizenship

Turkey offers various opportunities for foreigners who buy real estate on its land, as they are exempted from VAT, in addition to granting Turkish citizenship to those who buy a property worth 250,000 US dollars.

Real estate valuation expert "Sheimaa Shaheerli", who holds the EVA real estate valuation certificate, said: "The new systems and laws, and the rise of the dollar against the Turkish lira, were two important reasons for the increase in foreign investors' demand for real estate investment in our country. Also, the reduction of the property value required for Turkish citizenship from one million dollars to 250 thousand dollars played a major role in increasing this demand."

The following tables show the areas of real estate purchases by foreigners and the number of investors who bought them, during the first three months of both 2018 and 2019:

Ranking of Turkish Cities by Real Estate Sales to Foreigners

According to our vision at Imtilak Real Estate, we expect the Turkish real estate market to witness increasing demand in the coming period, as indicated by the official statistics we have presented in this article and in other articles that addressed the increasing demand of foreigners in Turkey to buy real estate.

Other important information and topics, learn about them:

• Catalca District in Istanbul and freehold ownership and investment there.

• Apartment prices in Turkey in Iraqi, Algerian, Kuwaiti Dinars and Qatari Riyals.

• Important facts about earthquake insurance in Turkey.

Edited by: Imtilak Real Estate©

Sources: Emlak Kulisi + Posta Newspaper

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