Foreign investment in Turkish property growing

The amendment of the Foreign Direct Investment Law, which would overhaul the conditions for foreigners’ real estate investments, is expected to allow foreign companies and individuals to buy bigger chunks of property, and to boost demand even further.

In some parts of the country so many foreigners have now bought property that electricity bills come with an English translation. Germans, who are big buyers in Turkey, are starting business and in Antalya almost a quarter of all real estate is owned by foreigners.

“Basically the British, German and Russian tourists are flooding into Turkey in ever-increasing numbers each year,” Orhun Ozdener Vahaboglu, a real estate attorney and consultant in Istanbul, told PropertyWire website.

Coastal property in Turkey is rising in value as a result of increased foreign interest. “Turkey is a growing country with a lot of potential, as the European membership is a pending issue. As soon as this is realized, we may expect that the prices will double, as has been in Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia some time ago,” he was quoted as saying.

Property values in Kalkan, on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, average approximately $525,000 and values in nearby Fethiye are even higher, according to information from The World Politics Review. Turkey has no national property price index so these figures are probably among the most reliable.

Turkey opened its real estate market to foreigners in 2003. The Foreign Direct Investment Law is planned to clarify the position for those interested in buying more than two and a half acres of property. Current law also restricts purchases to a maximum of 10 percent of the land within a building scheme.