Real Estate Expert Özkan Aydemir: Prices have dropped, but there are still no takers

Stating that exorbitant rental prices in real estate, which reached record levels over the last 2 years, are now declining, Real Estate Expert Özkan Aydemir said this is due to properties that could not be sold because of high mortgage interest rates being put on the rental market. 

"DEMAND HAS DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY"

Noting that tenants, property owners, and investors have been closely watching real estate prices that have been rising every day and reaching historic record levels, Elfi Gayrimenkul Founder and Broker Özkan Aydemir said, “3-4 months ago, the average time to rent out an apartment across Bursa was at most 1 week. In the last 20-25 days, this average has risen to 1-1.5 months. The prices of apartments that were rented for 23 thousand liras 3 months ago have now fallen below 20 thousand liras. But despite this, there are no takers. One of the reasons for this is that those who thought the 25 percent limit would be lifted have also put the apartments they kept empty onto the market for rent. 1.5 months ago, there were 580 thousand residential sales listings on real estate portals across Turkey. These housing listings have decreased by over 20 percent in the 1.5-month period, falling to around 500 thousand. Because many customers who realized they could not make a sale due to high mortgage interest rates have turned their apartments into rentals. While there were 7-8 apartments for rent in our office 1.5 months ago, we currently have nearly 40-45 rental apartment portfolios on our lists. There is an extreme drop in the customer segment coming for rental apartments. Demand has decreased significantly. We anticipate that this demand will fall even further in January and February and that prices will come down another step. A bubble had formed in the housing market over a 2-year period. Figures had risen very quickly. This affected both sales and rents. We see that this bubble has been slowly melting over the 2-month period, that rental apartments have reached normal levels, and that prices will drop a step back,” he said. 

Stating that mandatory mediation was introduced as of September 1, Aydemir said, “Rental apartments and real estate had caused too many files to accumulate in courthouses regarding law. There is a process of nearly 605 thousand files that have come to mediation to date. We see that 20 percent of these have been resolved through mediation. On one hand, the burden on the courthouse has been reduced. We anticipate that the market will be lower than the previous bright years in terms of both sales and rentals in the 2-3 month period,” he said. 

PRICES HAVE DROPPED BUT THERE ARE STILL NO TAKERS

Expressing that there are currently nearly 4,300 apartments for rent across Bursa, Aydemir said, “Nearly 2,200 of these are in the Nilüfer region. The Görükle region is one of the areas where students live the most and where 1+1 apartments are located. 1+1 apartments had gone up to 10 thousand liras. When we talked to our colleagues there, they said that the apartments were not being rented out, that 1+1s had gone up to 10 thousand liras 1.5 months ago, but that these prices have now come down to 8 thousand liras. But he said they are still not being taken. One of the factors here is the latest regulation that apartments cannot be rented for less than 100 days. The fact that daily rentals are not allowed except by companies is one of the reasons. Previously, there were those who kept their apartments empty and rented them out, renting them for 10 days or 1 month. This obligation has now increased to 100 days. As of January 1, renting out apartments for less than 100 days will no longer exist in the market,” he said. 

WORKPLACE RENTS ARE TRENDING UPWARD

Stating that they have been voicing for the last month that rental apartment prices in Bursa will come down, Aydemir said, “We see that purchasing power is slowly falling in places where 3+1 apartments have gone up to 25-30 thousand liras. That is why it seems like rents will come down. Since the 25 percent limit in workplaces only applies to residences, we see that prices in many regions, including industry and workplaces, are going up. This has put the sector in a bit of a handicapped situation. Since the 2-year 25 percent limit given for housing was not given to workplaces, when you look at the regions, we see that workplace rents are going up,” he said.

News Source: 12punto