The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) published data on the housing price index (HPI) for the period of October 2023. Thus, the lowest monthly growth rate in the last five months was observed in October 2023, with an increase of 3.8 percent compared to the previous month. Compared to the same month of the previous year, it increased nominally by 86.5 percent and in real terms by 15.4 percent. According to KFE data (September 2023), housing prices in September increased by 4.3 percent monthly and by 89.2 percent annually.
Housing price indices in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir saw an increase of 2.9, 4.7 and 3.3 percent in October 2023 compared to the previous month. The index values increased by 74.4, 101.5 and 80.1 percent in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir respectively compared to the same month of the previous year.
FOAM PRICES ARE FALLING
CBRT President Hafize Gaye Erkan said of the housing market in his interview published in Hürriyet newspaper on December 16: “One person should not have 10 houses, 10 people should have one house.” His words caused a public controversy. Consumer and real estate representatives who evaluated Mayor Erkan’s statement and October KFE data for Aydınlık; He said that foam prices have started to fall, but the use of real estate as an investment vehicle should be avoided. Adnan Yeşiltaş, president of the Association of Real Estate Consultants in Istanbul, said that one person can own 10 apartments, but as the number of owned apartments increases, the tax must increase exponentially:
The statement “One person should not own 10 houses” is a very strange statement. Whether one has 10 houses or 100 houses. However, let the tax rate to be paid by a citizen who owns one house be different from the tax rate to be paid by a citizen who owns two, three, five or 10 houses. Let the tax increase exponentially every time the number of apartments increases. Both claims are surprising and interesting. I don’t think there will be any news on so many topics. He probably used such an expression after a moment’s pause.
“Real estate has become an investment tool rather than being used as a necessity. As the gap between supply and demand widened, real estate took precedence over other investment vehicles. It is necessary to save the property from its position as an investment tool. The most sensible way to do this is; The tax collected from the owners of one flat differs from the tax collected from the owners of several flats. People should focus on starting a business, opening a factory and increasing employment rather than real estate.
“There has been no decline in real estate in recent years. There has been an increase in the market for foreign purchases. Homes bought by foreigners at prices higher than their value set a precedent. When foreign demand turned the market upside down, there were frothy increases. What falls down here is this; “The foam figure doesn’t move at the same pace.
STATE INVESTMENT IN HOUSING
Turhan Çakar, chairman of the Association for Consumer Rights, emphasized that every family should own a house and that the state should implement an investment policy for this purpose, saying:
“One person should not have 10 houses” is true. But every family should have a house, not 10 people. In the history of the republic rent We live in a time when prices are the highest. People with low incomes have trouble paying rent. Every family should have a house to keep people out of trouble. The state should also focus on the policy of investment and housing production, which is necessary for every family to own a house. With today’s high cost of living, it is very difficult for wage earners to own a home. The state should therefore support this topic.”
76 THOUSAND APPLICATIONS FOR RENTAL MEDIATION
Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç announced that 76 thousand 780 requests for mediation in rent disputes were submitted and 32 thousand 98 of these requests resulted in an agreement. Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç made a statement on his social network account regarding the mandatory mediation practice in rent disputes. Tunç recalled that mediation practice in rent disputes began on September 1. Minister Tunç used the following statements: “There were 76 thousand 780 applications to the mediation system in rent disputes that we started as of September, 32 thousand 98 of these applications resulted in an agreement, so our citizens, consisting of 64 thousand tenants and landlords, resolved the dispute amicably without resorting to litigation.”
“IT REDUCED THE JUDGE’S WORKLOAD”
Arguing that the parties’ agreements have reduced rental prices by reducing evictions and the need for new rentals, Tunç continued: “Given that 20 thousand rental cases were filed in August, it is likely that in 3.5 months there will be approximately 70 thousand cases. , while the number of cases remaining at 13,923 increases the burden on the judiciary.” also caused its decrease. Most importantly, it also served social harmony by minimizing tenant-landlord quarrels.’
DOWNWARD RENT TREND
Emlakjet released November real estate data for Turkey in general. According to the company’s statement, 44 percent of those looking for a house for rent and 56 percent for sale were looking for a house in Turkey in November. Although there was no radical change in the prices of houses for sale compared to the previous month, it was observed that the downward trend in rents continued.
According to the information provided, Emlakjet users were also asked about the “Effects of the new advertising regulation on the real estate sector”. Users said the regulation would increase trust in property search platforms. 60 percent of respondents think that the new regulation will prevent false advertising.
INFORMATION CONCERNING POLLUTION
Emlakjet Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tolga İdikat, whose views are included in the statement, said that there are concerns in the real estate sector such as high information and advertising pollution and low transparency, and said: “There is a single price regulation and TR ID that it will prevent the same ad from being published at different prices on different platforms.” “We believe that the new advertising regulation regarding the placement of classified ads will have a positive impact on the industry.” he made his assessment.