22 December 2017•Update: 22 December 2017
By Tuba Sahin
ANKARA
The number of residential properties sold in Turkey decreased by 7.5 percent annually in November, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) revealed on Friday.
A total of 122,732 houses changed hands in the month, almost unchanged -- 150 units -- compared to a month earlier.
"For the house sales of November 2017, Istanbul had the highest share of house sales with 16.2 percent and 19,939 sold house," TurkStat said.
The number of properties sold to foreigners surged by 21.4 percent year-on-year in November.
Of the total sales, 2,152 houses were sold to foreigners, approximately 34 percent (or 728 units) of them in Istanbul, the country's largest city by population.
Following Istanbul, the Mediterranean holiday resort city of Antalya came second with 491 properties, while the northwestern province of Bursa ranked third with 142 units.
The figures showed Iraqi citizens topped the list of buyers with 405 properties, followed by Saudis with 239 units, Kuwaitis 151, Russians 135 and Afghans 105.
