Housing prices continue to decline!

According to the statement made by the company, the March results of the "sahibindex Rental and For-Sale Housing Market Outlook" research, prepared in cooperation with sahibinden.com and Bahçeşehir University Center for Economic and Social Research (BETAM), reported that the decline in real sales prices has continued for 9 months.

According to the report, the annual rate of change in real prices has fallen to minus 14.1 percent nationwide, minus 16.1 percent in Istanbul, and minus 13.6 percent in Izmir. The annual rate of change in current prices decreased by 2.2 points compared to February, reaching 44.8 percent nationwide.

The real housing price index nationwide, which had been rising continuously since May 2020, continued its decline—albeit at a slower pace—in March 2024, a trend observed since July 2023. The real housing price index was 172.7 in March, a decrease of 0.8 points compared to February. While the inflation rate from February to March was approximately 3.2 percent, the current housing price increase across Turkey remained at 2.7 percent in the same period. Since current housing prices have systematically remained below inflation in recent months, real prices are decreasing.

DECLINE CONTINUES IN THREE MAJOR CITIES

As in the previous eight months, the real housing sales price index fell in the three major cities in March as well. From February to March, the real housing price index decreased by 1 point in Istanbul and 2.4 points in Ankara, while it increased by 0.2 points in Izmir. In March, the real housing price index was 169.3 in Istanbul, 193.3 in Ankara, and 177.8 in Izmir.

The annual real price increase, which reached 65.8 percent in August 2022, began a rapid decline starting in September 2022. The annual real price, which rose temporarily in February 2023 due to the impact of the major earthquake, began to decrease again starting in March, and in March 2024, the annual price change rate continued its downward trend in negative territory at minus 14.1 percent, a 2-point decrease compared to February 2024.

The number of for-sale housing listings increased slightly nationwide and in two major cities, while it decreased in Istanbul. The supply of for-sale housing increased by 1.5 percent nationwide, 1 percent in Ankara, and 2.9 percent in Izmir compared to the previous month. The decline in Istanbul was at the level of 0.1 points.

Annual increases in inflation-adjusted real rents across Turkey have been decreasing for a long time. Excluding an exceptional increase from May to June, the annual increase in average real rent peaked at 86.6 percent in February 2023 and then began to decline, falling to 9.5 percent with a 4-point decrease from December to January. The real average rent, which decreased by 1.1 percent on an annual basis in February, fell by 8 percent on an annual basis in March. With this decrease, the average real rent in March 2024 fell 8 percent below March 2023.

The rental housing demand indicator fell between August and November, rose slightly in December and January, and remained almost the same in February.

In March, the rental housing demand index increased by 4.8 percent. When viewed on an annual basis, there is a 20.2 percent decrease in rental housing demand.

News Source: AA