Turkey: Housing sales rise 8.9% in January-April

ISTANBUL

The number of houses sold in Turkey rose by 8.9% in the January-April period to reach 383,821, said the country's statistical authority on Friday.

In the four-month period, sales of mortgaged houses increased by 141.4%, reaching 146,387 units, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data showed.

"And in other types of sales, it was 237,434 and decreased by 18.6%," it added.

Residential properties, which were sold for the first time, in this period were 122,280, down by 16% while second-hand housing sales were 261,541, posting a 26.4% increase, it said.

In the January-April period, housing sales to foreigners were 11,738, falling by 12% versus the same period last year.

Meanwhile in April, 42,783 houses were sold in the country, posting a 55.5% decrease compared to April 2019.

"[In April] Istanbul had the highest share of house sales with 14.3% with 6,113 houses sold," the institute noted.

This was followed by the capital Ankara with 4,500 housing sales and Izmir, with 2,533 houses sold. Their shares were 10.5% and 5.9%, respectively.

Housing sales to foreigners decreased by 78.8% in the month compared to the same month last year, totaling 790.

In March, the figures revealed Iranians topped the list of buyers with 157 houses, followed by Iraqis (103), Russians (61), Afghans (54) and Chinese citizens (40).