Record broken in land, field, and commercial real estate sales across Turkey in the first 10 months of the year

Across the country, 2 million 419 thousand 981 real estate properties changed hands during the January-October period. Of these sales, 993 thousand 835 were residential properties. Residential sales showed a 14.3 percent decrease in the 10-month period compared to the same period last year.

Land, field, and commercial real estate sales reached an all-time high for the January-October period with 1 million 426 thousand 146 units in 10 months. In the same period last year, this figure was 1 million 391 thousand 787. The increase rate was 2.5 percent. Despite the decline in residential properties, the rise in other types of real estate drew attention.

Based on the January-October periods, land, field, and commercial real estate sales figures were 1 million 176 thousand in 2021, 1 million 17 thousand in 2020, 828 thousand in 2019, and 1 million 14 thousand in 2018.

While the share of non-residential real estate in total sales reached 58.9 percent for the first time, this rate broke a record in October, hitting 62.2 percent. The share of non-residential sales in the January-October period had ranged between 44.3 percent and 54.5 percent over the previous 5 years.

"INTEREST IN COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE HAS INCREASED"

Bilgiçler Yapı Board Member Ali Emre Bilgiç stated that there has been a noticeable increase in the construction of commercial real estate projects recently in Istanbul, where the heart of the Turkish economy beats, and said that projects planned to meet the growing demand are designed to respond to the needs of the new commercial approach.

Noting that collective business centers are now receiving more attention in the mega-city, Bilgiç explained that they are implementing smart trade and business center projects for this reason.

Stating that there is high demand for smart business centers that have parking, are earthquake-resistant, allow large trucks to easily pull up, and possess energy efficiency, Bilgiç reported that the diversity and change in the retail sector are effective in the increase of this demand.

Discussing the advantages that commercial real estate offers to its users, Bilgiç said, "Commercial real estate investments continue to attract the attention of investors with the many advantages they provide. These advantages include not only short-term but also long-term and sustainable earnings. Commercial real estate, which provides financial stability to its investors along with high rental income, has become a solid source of income with its location advantage."

"ALWAYS LEARN THE CURRENT MARKET PRICES WHEN INVESTING"

Ali Emre Bilgiç advised investors to make their investments in projects located in the right locations that have parking, high energy efficiency, and access to pedestrian traffic and public transport, emphasizing that the region should be well researched and current market prices must be learned.

Bilgiç said, "The commercial real estate market in Istanbul has a dynamic and diverse structure. We see that many branded housing developers have turned to commercial real estate projects in recent years. I think the reason for this is the transformation in consumer demands. While dynamic market conditions provide an advantage in commercial real estate, there is a slowdown in residential sales figures, as the statistics also show us."

"THE HIGH INCREASE IN LAND AND FIELD SALES BROUGHT THE RECORD"

Istanbul Valuation Managing Partner and real estate valuation expert Celal Erdoğdu also said that the highest 10-month non-residential real estate sales figure of all time was reached with over 1 million 426 thousand sales in the January-October period.

Noting that land and fields make up the vast majority of non-residential real estate sales and that these two sales items brought the record, Erdoğdu explained that commercial real estate, led by offices and shops, covers a wide spectrum from factories to hospitals.

Erdoğdu made the following statements regarding the increase in land and field sales:

"Among the most important reasons here is the increased interest in fields following COVID-19 and the earthquakes. The rise in housing prices and interest rates also directs investors to land and fields suitable for their budgets. Because citizens who cannot buy a house want to make affordable land and field investments, especially to protect themselves from inflation. Recently, regions in the west of Thrace have also been among the places attracting interest. In addition, our citizens think about buying land or fields in such places and say, 'If necessary in the future, I will put a container, prefab, or tiny house on it.' This also increases interest. We see that sales advertisements and investments on social media have increased recently. Our citizens should be careful about this."