Buying Property in Turkey

Traditionally British people have bought property mainly in European-Mediterranean countries such as Spain , France , Italy and Cyprus as well as famous US destinations like Florida . However, these places have recently become extremely expensive and saturated. Nowadays, the UK citizens have been seeking other alternative overseas destinations.

If you, as a UK citizen, prefer buying a property at a very reasonable price which you can use yourself for regular holidays and that you can also rent out to get some income in a country where the summer is nice and long, stretching from March to November, and there are many tourism attractions, then Turkey is the most appropriate destination for you.

In 2007, more than 23 million tourists visited Turkey and more than 25 million tourists are expected to visit Turkey in 2008. This figure is expected to double within a few years. Moreover, future projects such as creation of much more congress, golf, health tourism centres, having held international sports events such as Formula 1 races, international university Olympics-Universade 05/Izmir and UEFA Champions League Cup Final in 2005; the fact that Turkey started full EU-membership negotiations in October 2005 are all potential factors which will contribute well to property market in Turkey.

Moreover, the facts that;

• The new mortgage law and other relevant laws was enacted in 2007,
• Housing supply in Turkey currently lags behind the demand,
• Average age of houses in Turkey suggests that there is a strong need for new developments,
• The buildings erected after the devastating earthquake in Izmit, a city in the northwest of Turkey, in 1999 are much more preferred by investors since those (newer) buildings have to be pursuant to the earthquake-proof standards which were launched after 1999,
• Significant number of buildings lack the required licenses,

suggest that house prices are highly likely to be rocketed within few years. Thus, there are big prospects for property and construction related businesses.

taken from http://www.turkisheconomy.org.uk