
Navigating Türkiye's Real Estate Market in 2024: Debunking Myths and Identifying Opportunities
In 2024, Türkiye’s real estate market has become a topic of widespread speculation, particularly among real estate agencies catering to international clients. Reports of falling prices have dominated headlines, prompting close attention from international investors who often rely on such news to make investment decisions. The speculation stems from observations that certain real estate projects, particularly those deemed overpriced, have encountered difficulties in attracting buyers, leading to price reductions. This phenomenon is especially prevalent in projects where sales are predominantly facilitated through real estate agencies. To incentivize sales, construction companies offer these agencies high commissions, prompting them to aggressively market these properties, often targeting foreign buyers and pricing them in US dollars. Consequently, international investors may be more familiar with these overpriced projects, erroneously assuming that all real estate prices in Türkiye are declining.
Furthermore, there has been a modest downturn noticed in the prices of second-hand properties. This can be attributed to the prevalent high-interest rates, which deter potential buyers from acquiring mortgage loans. Consequently, current property owners may opt to sell their properties to fund new acquisitions, resulting in a slight decline in prices. In certain cases, properties may witness a reduction of up to 10%, or perhaps even more when sellers are compelled to expedite sales. However, it’s important to note that this isolated occurrence should not be considered indicative of the broader market trend.
It’s crucial to differentiate between overpriced projects, which were unsound investments, and still are even at reduced prices, and those that are fairly priced and offer genuine investment opportunities. While certain overpriced projects may undergo price reductions to stimulate demand, this does not reflect the entire real estate market. Fairly priced projects, on the contrary, have maintained stability in their prices or even increased for properties that are under construction and evolving successfully attracting local buyers. Unfortunately, many foreign investors may be unaware of this distinction, leading to misconceptions about the overall state of the market.
In conclusion, while there may be opportunities to capitalize on price reductions, especially in the second-hand property market, particularly given the persistently high interest rates, the broader real estate landscape in Türkiye presents a more nuanced scenario. Fairly priced projects continue to hold steady, and in some cases, prices may even increase due to escalating construction costs or strong demand. Therefore, investors are urged to conduct thorough research and carefully evaluate individual projects, avoiding deceptive opportunities that seem to boast improved prices and discounts from previous levels, yet in actuality, still exceed the fair market value as dictated by local standards.