site.btaWar in Ukraine, Spike in Russian and Ukrainian Demand for Real Estate in Turkey

Real estate companies are seeing a wave of Russians and Ukrainians wanting to buy housing in Turkey since February, particularly after the Russian invasion on the 24th, Turkish media reports. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), a total of 4,591 houses were sold to foreigners in February, a 54.9 per cent increase year-on-year. Housing sales to Russians in February spiked by 96% compared to a year earlier and those to Ukrainians by 85%, TurkStat says as quoted by CNN-Turk.

The list of foreign citizens with the most purchased real estate is topped by Iran (711), followed by Iraq (633) and then Russia (509).

Data from the Emlyakjet real estate digital platform quoted by CNN-Turk confirms the trend of growing demand of Russians and Ukrainians for real estate in the country. Emlyakjet, a site with over 60 million views a month and 15 million visits, the searches for real estate by Russians in February were 51 per cent more than those in February 2021, and searches by Ukrainians were up by 63 per cent.

The seaside resort of Antalya, which is a preferred holiday destination both for Russians and Ukrainians, tops the list of interests in purchasing housing. It is followed by Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara in the case of Russians, and by Istanbul, Mersin, Ankara and Izmir for Ukrainians.

The heightened demand by Russians and Ukrainians fleeing the war has caused a spike in house sales and rents in Antalya, writes the Turkish economic daily Dunya. February sales soared by nearly 28 per cent year-on-year to reach 4,727 houses. According to TurkStat, some 1,099 of them were bought buy foreign buyers, a 106.2 per cent increase year-on-year.

TamNoktaNeo Director and real estate broker Ugur Fer told Dunya that nearly 30,000 Russians and over 9,000 Ukrainians reside in Antalya permanently, and that they have brought many relatives since the start of the Ukraine war. Because of the sanctions the West imposed on Russia, wealthy Russians had opted to buy properties in Antalya. Fer said that some of those who have brought relatives in Antalya buy between 20 and 30 apartments en bloc. Realtors say real estate rents in some of the most preferred Antalya quarters have nearly tripled: from about 3,000 lira/sq m (205 dollars) to 8,000-10,000 lira (547-684 dollars).

Wealthy Russians are pouring money into housing in the megapolis, seeking a financial haven in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions, according to many property companies, Reuters reports. “We sell seven to eight units to Russians every day,” Gul Gul, co-founder of the Golden Sign real estate company in Istanbul, told Reuters. “They buy in cash, they open bank accounts in Turkey or they bring gold.”

Turkey condemned Russia’s invasion but did not join Western sanctions against Moscow. Direct flights to Russia continue. Capitalizing on its good relations with both Russia and Ukraine, Ankara has been trying to mediate between the two hostile parties for a truce and a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

Victoria Nuland, U.S. State Department Under Secretary for Political Affairs, told the Hürriyet Daily News in an exclusive interview on April 4 that “what’s most important, is that Turkey be very vigilant and not allow, even if it can’t join sanctions, its territory to be used to evade sanctions or to become a pool for dirty oligarch money. And I think there’s quite a bit of understanding of the risks of that in the government.” 

Against the backdrop of the surging property sales to Russians and Ukrainians, Turkish media reports of impending changes in the conditions for acquiring Turkish citizenship by foreigners on the grounds of ownership of real estate in Turkey. At a meeting on April 12, the government decided that the sum foreigners are required to pay for a property in Turkey to qualify for Turkish citizenship will be increased to 400,000 dollars from the 250,000 dollars now. Also, they may not sell the property for at least three years. The new regulation is to be promulgated soon.

The real effect of the conflict in Ukraine on the real estate market in Turkey will be seen best when TurkStat publishes its data for March, but the information from real estate brokers clearly outlines the trend of growing demand by Russians and Ukrainians.