Property sales to foreigners in Turkey up 43,5% in 2021
The Turkish Statistical Institute has published a report on residential property sales: 58,576 houses and apartments were sold to foreigners in 2021. This is almost twice as much as in 2020.
Author •Lyle Julien
Investment programs expert
Property sales to foreigners in Turkey up 43.5% in 2021
The share of housing sales to foreigners amounted to 3,9% of the total number of purchase and sale transactions. In total, 1,491,856 houses and apartments were sold in Turkey during 2021.
Foreigners most often bought property in Istanbul, Antalya and Ankara as 73% of sales transactions were concluded in these three cities.
The graph shows that home sales to foreigners declined only in 2020. For several months, foreigners could not come to Turkey to select property and conclude contracts. The reason is that the country’s borders were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic
In 2021, most properties were sold to citizens of Iran and Iraq. The Russians took the third place: they became the owners of 5,379 houses and apartments.
Top 5 countries whose citizens bought Turkish property most often
Country
Number of purchased properties
Iran
10,056
Iraq
8,661
Russia
5,379
Afghanistan
2,762
Germany
2,358
What will an investor get by buying property in Turkey?
Opportunity to get Turkish passports for the whole family. The investor has the right to take part in the state citizenship program. One of the program options is the purchase of real estate. The minimum investment is $250,000. The investor can buy any object: apartments, houses, commercial or industrial premises, land.
Family members can obtain Turkish citizenship together with the investor: a spouse and children under 18 years of age. Also, the investor can add parents and adult children to the application if they are financially dependent on him.
The Turkish passport allows its holders to live, work, study and come to the country at any time, even when the borders are closed.
Turkey is a candidate for EU membership. If a country signs the agreement, its citizens will receive the rights and obligations of citizens of the European Union.
Additional income from renting out of real estate. Turkey is a popular holiday destination: about 9 million tourists visited the country in 2021. Tourists rent apartments, houses and hotel rooms.
Prices for Turkish real estate are growing on average by 5‑20% per year, depending on the region. Rental yield is from 5 to 15% per annum.
Visa-free travel to 110 countries. With a Turkish passport, its holder can freely visit several countries that are inaccessible to Russians without visas. Among them are Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Opportunity to obtain an E‑2 business visa to the United States and move to the country with the whole family. This visa is not available to investors from Russia. The E‑2 visa is non-immigrant as it cannot be used to obtain a Green Card and apply for citizenship. The visa is valid for 5 years, then it can be extended an unlimited number of times.
To obtain an E‑2 visa, an applicant needs to invest a significant amount in a US business and take over the management of the company. The minimum investment threshold is not defined: in practice, it is enough to invest about $200,000 for the USCIS to approve the application.
Social guarantees. Citizens of Turkey can be treated free of charge in public clinics and study at universities. There are also no restrictions on the inheritance of real estate and assets in the country.
How to get Turkish citizenship by buying real estate
To obtain Turkish citizenship for the purchase of real estate, one needs to take part in the state program. The minimum investment for the property purchase option is $250,000. It is not necessary to buy one object as an investor can buy several apartments, but no more than two months should pass between transactions.
From January 2022, all payments under the program are made only in US dollars or the equivalent of the amount in foreign currency, but not in Turkish liras. This is how the Turkish Government reduces fluctuations in the lira exchange rate: it will not affect the value of objects for investors.
The lira has almost halved against the US dollar in 2021. The fall affected the cadastral value of real estate, which was calculated in lira at the exchange rate on the day of assessment. For an object that cost $250,000 at the beginning of the year, an investor would have to pay almost $500,000 in December.
Examples of investment properties in Turkey
Turkey, Istanbul
$280,000 — $2,020,000
Furnished apartments in a prestigious area of Istanbul
55 m² — 200 m²
1—3 
1—3 
Turkey, Istanbul
$124,000 — $510,000
Apartments and commercial premises in a premium residential complex40 m² — 162 m²2—3 1—2 The Turkish citizenship program also provides other investment options. To obtain a passport, an investor can:
make a deposit in a bank of $500,000 or more;
buy securities for $500,000 or more;
buy government bonds for $500,000 or more;
buy shares of investment funds for $500,000 or more;
open a business with a capital of $500,000 or create 50 jobs.
Immigrant Invest is a licensed agent of the Turkish citizenship by investment program. If you want to get a Turkish passport, please consult investment program experts.
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