While Turkey is a rather large country of around 78 million people and the country has a wide variety of different places to buy property, whether in a smaller city or a beachside resort, Istanbul will not only be the most direct recipient from Turkey’s economic growth, but it also has staying power.
Condos being built in resort towns especially have a lot of their advertisements targeting foreigners. After all, if you liked vacationing in the seaside town of Antalya, why not live there?
For investment purposes, however, tourist locations are very subject to being the “flavor of the month”. Turkey, along with the Mediterranean region as a whole, has a huge amount of seaside locales – it’s just a matter of where people choose to live and develop into a tourist area.
This reason, among several others, mean that it’s better to focus buying property in Turkey in a city with an actual economy and if possible, a geostrategic location. Istanbul (and to a lesser extent, Turkey’s capital of Ankara) definitely has both of these things.
Foreigners are able to own real estate in Turkey such as land as well as apartments, and Istanbul lets property buyers take full advantage of this with its large variety of homes. From tall condominium buildings to huge mansions overlooking the Bosphorus Strait, Istanbul has it all.
Istanbul is home to the regional headquarters of several large international and it is the industrial and manufacturing hub of Turkey, is a growing Islamic Banking center and is a frequently visited tourist destination in its own right.
Because of this, real estate in Istanbul has great potential for capital appreciation – however, it may be better to try another country in the region if you’re after rental yields. Average yields in the city hover around 5%, and there are better options in some of Europe’s other countries such as Poland and Hungary.
There’s more happening on Istanbul’s European side than on the Asian side, which is more laid back. The Levent is Turkey’s growing financial district, and Taksim Square serves as a transportation hub, although the area is rather touristy.
