Turkey’s housing sales decreased in February by 18.2 percent over the same period last year, according to the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat), the Diken news website reported.
A total of 78,450 residences were sold in February, with sales to foreign nationals skyrocketing by 92.1 percent, or 3,321 houses.
The foreigners mostly preferred İstanbul, where 1,440 of the sales occurred. Transactions in Turkey’s largest city were followed by Antalya, Ankara, and Bursa.
During the month, 628 residences were bought by Iraqi nationals, while Iranians purchased 307, Russians 236 and Afghans 166.
According to the report, Turkey’s economy has been led by the construction sector, which has been experiencing financial difficulties lately.