The Russians set a record for the purchase of housing in Turkey. Demand was provided by those wishing to obtain citizenship and residence permits

In 2022, Russians have become the largest homebuyers in Turkey among foreigners. During the year, Russian citizens bought more houses and apartments there,

In 2022, Russian citizens bought 16.3 thousand houses and apartments in Turkey, according to the data of the Institute of Statistics of the Republic, which were studied by RBC. This is three times more than in 2021, when the Russians purchased almost 5.4 thousand lots. In general, in terms of the number of transactions, 2022 exceeded the results of the last six years combined: from 2016 to 2021, Russians bought 16.2 thousand houses in Turkey.

According to the results of the year, Russians for the first time took first place among foreigners in buying housing in Turkey, they accounted for 24% of such transactions. In 2021, this figure was only 9%. The Russians came out on top among foreigners in real estate purchases in the republic in April and held it in the following months.

In general, housing sales in Turkey over the past year decreased by 0.4% (or 6.2 thousand lots), to 1.486 million apartments and houses. At the same time, the demand for real estate in this country from foreigners increased by 15% over the year, to 68.2 thousand lots. The share of transactions made by foreigners increased in total sales from 3.97 to 4.59%. Foreigners bought the most apartments and houses in Istanbul and Antalya - almost 25 thousand and 22 thousand transactions, respectively. The third place was taken by Mersin, where foreigners bought 4,000 apartments and houses.

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According to the level of interest in Turkish real estate, Russians are followed by citizens of Iran and Iraq, who previously occupied the first place among foreigners in buying housing in Turkey. In 2022, Iranians made 10,000 such transactions, which is 18% less than a year earlier. Demand from Iraqis fell by 28% to 6.2 thousand transactions. In the top five in terms of demand are also citizens of Kazakhstan and Germany, who bought 2.7 thousand apartments and houses each. At the end of 2022, the number of transactions for the purchase of housing in Turkey by Ukrainian citizens doubled to 2.6 thousand lots.

Benefits of buying property in Turkey

Russians are now buying housing in Turkey for their own residence and for renting out, says Ekaterina Pozdnyakova, project manager at Garnet investment company. “The increase in interest in Turkey is due to the fact that the Russians, who were considering buying real estate in Europe, have shifted to markets that are more understandable and accessible in terms of logistics,” says Vladimir Sergunin, partner at Nikoliers. In addition, Turkey, according to him, attracts with a long tourist season and the fact that, like Dubai, it has become a transport hub, from where there are convenient direct flights to other countries.

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But the main reasons for the increase in interest in the country, experts call the possibility of obtaining a residence permit (residence permit) or Turkish citizenship when buying real estate, including residential.

Residence

Last year, 153.6 thousand Russian citizens received a residence permit in Turkey, this figure includes both those who received a residence permit for the first time and those who extended it. Until last year, it was possible to obtain a two-year residence permit when buying any real estate, but from May 5, 2022, a document is issued if the object of the transaction costs more than $50 thousand and is located in cities or towns with a population of less than 500 thousand people and more than $75 thousand - in largest cities of the country. “In 2022, the main buying trend among Russians was the acquisition of inexpensive real estate in order to obtain a residence permit with the opportunity to then rent out this apartment or come to rest,” says Valentina Ledeneva, head of sales at Best House Alanya.

It is also possible to obtain a residence permit in Turkey with a long-term lease of real estate, but such a residence permit does not count towards obtaining the citizenship of the country. In other cases, a Turkish passport can be obtained after five years of residence permit. Since the end of December, Russians have faced difficulties in obtaining a residence permit on the basis of lease agreements. Some regions of the country are closed for obtaining a residence permit, the authorities explain this by the fact that a large number of foreigners already live in them.

Citizenship

When buying more expensive real estate, you can get Turkish citizenship. Until mid-June 2022, this required $250,000 to be invested in real estate, but then this threshold was raised to $400,000. In addition, from June, a condition was introduced according to which the purchased property cannot be sold for at least three years. Interest on the part of Russians in buying real estate in Turkey is primarily due to obtaining Turkish citizenship, Anna Larina, director of the foreign real estate department at NF Group, is sure. Having a Turkish passport makes it possible to get an American E-2 visa, which is the fastest way to emigrate to the US, she notes.

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Interest in obtaining citizenship through investment in real estate is also reflected in statistics. June 2022 became the most popular month for foreigners to buy real estate in Turkey, during this month 8.7 thousand transactions were made, including almost 1.9 thousand apartments bought by Russians. In other months, they concluded no more than 6.5 thousand transactions.

Since 2023, the rules for obtaining citizenship for the purchase of real estate have been tightened. For example, you can no longer rely on a Turkish passport when buying a share in real estate, now citizenship is given only when buying a whole lot. At the same time, the purchase of shares in a real estate investment fund in the amount of at least $ 500 thousand still gives the right to citizenship.

How is the market responding to increased demand?

The demand for real estate in Turkey from the Russians last year had three waves, says Pozdnyakova. The first surge occurred after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine on February 24, the second peak occurred in June due to the desire to obtain citizenship before raising the price threshold, and the third wave of demand occurred after the announcement of partial mobilization in Russia on September 21. According to the Turkish Institute of Statistics, the end of the year was the most active for Russian citizens: in September-December, the number of transactions with their participation exceeded 2 thousand per month, including almost 2.6 thousand in November and 2.4 thousand in December.

“Prices have largely moved in line with these waves. In the summer, after two waves, it seemed to many local realtors that there would be no more growth, but then there was a mobilization and prices went up again, ”recalls the Garnet project manager. According to Garnet estimates, in 2022, the growth in housing prices in the most popular cities among foreigners - Istanbul and Antalya - reached 40%. High demand has led to the fact that another city popular with Russians - Alanya - has ceased to be a place with a relatively affordable price level, adds Ledeneva. According to her, in some months of last year, prices for objects changed several times a day, and some of them have doubled in price since the beginning of the year. For example, some apartments in Alanya, which at the end of 2021-beginning of 2022 cost €45-50 thousand, have risen in price to €100-110 thousand.

“The Turkish real estate market is very overheated,” Pozdnyakova believes. However, she does not expect a cooling in demand, since in 2023 the citizens of China , which canceled the quarantine for entering the country introduced with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, may have an impact on prices . In the short term, interest in buying real estate in Turkey will continue among Russians, although increased prices will hold it back, Sergunin believes.