Housing data indicates that foreign acquisitions of homes in Turkey are on the rise, while on the opposite end, more Turks are buying real estate overseas.
In the first eight months of 2015, foreign nationals made 14,424 home purchases in Turkey, while Turks acquired a total of 4,100 homes in the Greece, Spain and France.
Realty-TR Board Chairman Fatih Elibol said that Turks are primarily interested in acquiring property overseas because they see it as a pathway to citizenship, as well as a source of rental income, given the decline of the Turkish lira. He adds that, on average, between 300,000 and 5 million lira (€92,000 and €1.5 mln) are required in total investment to obtain citizens’ rights.
Turkish citizens are showing an interest in London, where they acquired 1,100 real estate units in H1 2015. A roughly 4.5 million-lira (€1.38 mln) investment is needed to secure citizenship, but, even in central London, a flat can be acquired for 2 million lira (€600,000) and rented out for 13,000 lira (€4,000).
The Greek crisis has proven another good cost-benefit opportunity for Turks. Even 180,000 lira (€55,000) is enough to acquire a home, or 160,000 (€49,000) lira in Athens. Such units can then be rented out for as much as 1,500 lira (€460) per month. Turks have acquired 850 homes in neighbouring Greece. On the resort island of Mykonos, villas cost roughly 1.5 million lira (€460,000).
In Spain, real estate acquisition can ease the residence permit process, in addition to easing travel across the Eurozone. The total investment required is roughly 550,000 lira (€168,000) for Spain, where Turks acquired 400 units over Q1-Q3 2015. Housing units start from 100,000 lira (€30,500), rising up to 6.5 million lira (€2 mln). In central Barcelona and Madrid, a unit acquired for 650,000 lira (€200,000) can be subsequently rented out for 4,000 lira (€1,200) monthly.
Since the beginning of the year, with over 350 units acquired, Turkish citizens are also venturing into France. A studio in Paris costs roughly 800,000 lira (€240,000) and can be rented for 6,500 lira (€2,000) a month.
Source: BGN News
