Stand-off mode: will Russians stay on the Turkish real estate market?
Director of Tranio in Turkey, Maria Zharaya, has been living in Antalya and working with
Key points
– €100,000: new average buyer budget
– Rising requests for residence permits
– Developers more likely to give discounts
– Main demand: 100 sq m 1- or 2- bedroom flats near sea
– Favourite locations: Alanya and Antalya
Waiting out the storm
— Maria, did the tension between Russia and Turkey affect your work?
— Definitely. Clients who were planning to buy property here within the next two months delayed the purchase and are waiting for the situation to develop. It cannot be said that potential clients abandon the idea for good — they still want to buy property and have a second home in Turkey but a few definitively decided not to buy real estate in Istanbul. We are still expecting buyers for viewings during the next couple of weeks despite everything. Their main concern is that regular direct flights to Turkey will be cancelled as were charter flights recently.
— Have property sellers in Turkey changed their attitude to Russian buyers?
— Actually, our clients stand a very good chance of getting reasonable discounts from developers because the latter understand that demand from Russian buyers will shrink and become unpredictable in the near future. There is also a chance that Russian citizens who want to sell their property may drop prices by 30% under market level to get rid of this asset, which they now consider volatile.
— Are there many clients urgently trying to sell their Turkish property?
— So far none of Tranio’s clients who previously bought property in Turkey have sought our assistance in selling. And according to my peers, these requests are very rare on the market in general. That said, some Russians have said they will sell if there is a buyer, but there is definitely no panic at the moment. Assuming
— What exactly are owners and potential buyers afraid of?
— They are afraid of the local attitude toward them. However, here on the Mediterranean coast (where most Tranio clients buy) nothing much has changed. Local citizens understand that their wellbeing largely depends on the relationship between these two countries. I also get asked if Russian citizens could be divested of their property. However, this should not concern current owners or future buyers. When buying property in Turkey, foreign citizens get the same title deed as local citizens. If the initial purchase is legal and all documents are in order, no one can legitimately challenge their property rights.
— Will Russian sanctions affect the Turkish real estate market?
— Actually, Russian applications for residence permits in Antalya have increased, mainly due to concerns that Turkey will impose
— But if Russian owners want to sell, will there be buyers?
— If the property is liquid, it is not hard to sell. Other owners have the option of letting their property if they don’t want to rush into selling. Turkish citizens prefer to rent rather than buy, so demand for
Growing prices, smaller budgets
— Maria, what was the market like before the November events?
— During the five years leading up to the shooting down of that fighter jet, real estate prices have been growing. Just this year, they went up more than 10%.
— How active have
— Demand from Russian citizens went down and there were certainly less transactions than during the same period in 2014. However this decline in demand is global trend and confirmed in many countries. After the currency crisis
— What property was the most popular in 2015 and where?
— The most popular property is still one- or
— Is Turkish property considered for investment purposes?
— This year our clients have been increasingly interested in Istanbul, Turkey’s leading for residential property investment. Mostly, buyers were looking for
Anna Bugayeva, Tranio
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