Turk Stat, the country’s national stats organisation, has revealed in its latest report that during 2019, foreigners purchased 45,500 apartments and villas in destinations across the country. Overall, this 14.7% increase leads hopeful industry experts to have high expectations for 2020 that 60,000 properties will sell.

Staying true to historical trends, European Istanbul leads the way in house sales with 20,857 properties sold. The area around the Basin Express is receiving much interest from real estate investors as the city expands outwards.

Following in second place was the Antalya region that has for many decades been the second most popular holiday and foreign real estate destination. It covers the main city centre with famous districts like Lara Beach and Konyaalti, which are often classed as the best beaches in Turkey.

It also includes smaller coastal resorts like Kemer, Side, Kas, the golfing capital of Belek and Kalkan, on the outskirts that lead the way in luxury villas sales. However, the jewel in the crown is the Alanya region striving to become a recognised destination on its own. Ankara and Bursa are other destinations with improved sales.

Foreign House Sales in Turkey

Many reasons can be attributed to the rise during 2019, including the citizenship by investment scheme and a lucrative exchange rate. However, Turkey’s tourism industry also improved, and history has shown many tourists often return to buy a property and live in the country.

Antalya looks to match Istanbul in terms of popularity and has already exceeded visitor stats in the first two months of 2020. Hosting a staggering 388,000 tourists during January and February, this was a rise of 30% year-on-year.

In months classed as the offseason, it is quite an achievement and gives high expectations for the official tourism season from May to October. In 2019, Antalya had its most successful tourism record to date has hosted 15 million visitors, and is aiming for a staggering 18 million during 2020.

Despite ongoing troubles in Syria, the region’s most popular nationality of visitors is Russians, and they look set to continue visiting Antalya en-mass. Out of the 388,000 tourists in the first two months, 31% of those were Russians. Other nationalities known to prefer the area include Germans, Brits, French and Iranians making this a multicultural hub.

Another reason to have high expectations in the increase for tourists and foreign house sales is the relaxation of visa rules for many nationalities. The move by the Turkish government will help to promote Turkey on an international level.

With Turkey classed as one of the safest countries for the coronavirus, industry experts in both real estate and tourism are confident; success will continue. Government officials took precautions long before recommendations by the World Health Organization, and Turkish Airlines has suspended flights to and from a few destinations known to be hit including Iran and China. Every person entering the country is also being screened.

Further Reading

Visa-Free Travel to Turkey: The country is relaxing its visa regulations and saving tourists money. This article looks at the most popular holiday destinations and what tourists can expect.