Russians are taking advantage of the recent loss in value of the Turkish lira against other currencies to purchase real estate in Turkey, Sputnik Turkey reported on Tuesday, citing a Russian website.
A Russian executive from a real estate company based in Antalya told the Russian site that the demand for real estate in Turkey has seen an increase of 10 to 15 percent in the last 10 days.
“An apartment that cost €40,000 a month ago now costs €32,000. This constitutes a favorable situation for buyers. That’s why people who wanted to buy apartments in Turkey are now making use of this opportunity,” said the executive.
Russians purchased 988 properties in Turkey between the months of January and July this year, indicating an increase of 44 percent over the same period last year. The spike was particularly visible in the month of May during which 50 percent more properties were sold compared to April. This upward trend continued over the course of the next months.
The report also pointed out that Russians are one of the largest groups to purchase property in Turkey, ranking in fourth place after Iraqis, Saudis and Iranians.
The oil-rich Gulf countries, especially Qatar, have also been boosting their share in the Turkish real estate market in the last few years.
Another owner of an Antalya based real estate company who spoke to the Russian website said she does not believe this extraordinary opportunity will last in the long term. “Following the decline of the lira, the price of food, electricity and fuel were hiked in Turkey. Consequently, we expect real estate prices to go up in the near future as well.”
In the past few months, Turkey has been experiencing a currency crisis in which the value of the lira took a nosedive against other currencies, losing almost half its value against the US dollar since the beginning of this year.