UPDATE - Turkey: Housing sales surge 33% in January-March

UPDATES WITH COMMENTS FROM DEPUTY HEAD OF CONTRACTORS' ASSOCIATION

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - The number of residential properties sold in Turkey increased 33% in the January-March period to reach 341,038, said the country's statistical authority on Wednesday.

In the period, sales of mortgaged houses increased by 238.6% to reach 129, 299, Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data showed.

"Houses sold for the first time in this period was 107,432 decreased by 0.4% while second-hand house sales were 233, 606, posting a 57.2% increase," it said.

In the Jan-March period, house sales to foreigners became 10,948 by increasing 13.8% compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile in March, 108, 670 houses were sold in the country, marking a 3.4% increase compared to the same month last year.

"In the month Istanbul had the highest share of house sales with 18.3% and 19,846 sold house."

This followed by the capital, Ankara with 12,409 house sales and Izmir, with 7,131 house sales with a share of 11.4% and 6.6% respectively.

Housing sales to foreigners decreased by 3% in the month compared to the same month last year, totaling 3,036.

In March, the figures revealed Iranians topped the list of buyers with 465 houses, followed by Iraqis (426), Russians (227), Afghans (184) and Palestinians (119).

- Low expectations in house holes

Ahmet Erkurtoglu, the deputy head of the Contractors' Association of Istanbul's Anatolian Side, said: "The year 2020 will be the year in which expectations about a remarkable increase in house sales will decrease further."

He added in terms of housing sales figures, Turkey exceeds the figures of the last year in the first 2 months of 2020, adding a small increase in house sales in March showed that sales were alive.

"It will not be right to say the same thing for April figures," he noted, saying there is a cautious approach to investments due to the coronavirus crisis.

Yet, he added, this is the most appropriate time for buying houses in terms of prices, with lower interest rates for housing loans and deposits.

"Housing sales to foreigners will also decrease in the coming period as the coronavirus is effective in almost every part of the world," he explained.

However, he added, this situation will reverse as of the summer and the sales will gain momentum with the revival of tourism.