Activity in housing sales in April: Peak of the last four months seen

There was activity in the Turkish housing market in April. The latest data published by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) showed that total housing sales in April increased by 2.6 percent compared to the previous year, rising to 126,800. In the first four-month period, sales reached 476,200, showing a 0.5 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

A notable rise was observed in first-hand housing sales. The number of houses sold for the first time in April increased by 9.6 percent compared to last year, reaching 40,306. Second-hand housing sales, on the other hand, amounted to 86,502 in the same period, a decrease of 0.3 percent. Thus, the share in total sales reached 68.2 percent for second-hand and 31.8 percent for first-hand sales.

Mortgaged housing sales were on an upward trend. In April, mortgaged sales rose by a significant 40.5 percent to 25,771. Conversely, housing sales made through other methods decreased by 4 percent, accounting for 79.7 percent of total sales. The share of mortgaged sales was 20.3 percent.

Calendar and seasonally adjusted data indicate that first-hand sales in April increased by 2.9 percent compared to the same month last year, while second-hand sales declined by 6.1 percent. Compared to the previous month, an increase of 5.4 percent was recorded in first-hand sales and 0.5 percent in second-hand sales.

Housing sales to foreigners showed a slight decline. While 1,516 houses were sold to foreigners in April, this number decreased by 1.1 percent on an annual basis, corresponding to 1.2 percent of total sales. The number of houses sold to foreigners in the first four months of the year was determined to be 5,681, a decrease of 11.6 percent. During this period, citizens of the Russian Federation ranked first among foreigners buying the most houses with 263 homes. 110 people from China and 100 from Iran purchased houses.

INCREASE IN WORKPLACE SALES AS WELL

In addition to the rise in housing, there was also activity in workplace sales. While first-hand workplace sales rose by 14.3 percent to 4,301, a level of 11,393 was seen in second-hand workplace sales, an increase of 8.7 percent. Mortgaged workplace sales rose by a significant 102.1 percent year-on-year to 758. Workplace sales made through other means also increased by 7.7 percent to 14,936.

Furthermore, calendar and seasonally adjusted data showed that first-hand workplace sales increased by 7.4 percent and second-hand workplace sales by 2.6 percent compared to the previous year. Compared to the previous month, increases of 10 percent and 8.8 percent were recorded, respectively.

News Source: 12punto