How to buy a house in Turkey now, and how much it costs

The Republic of Turkey is a popular country among foreigners for buying liquid real estate. Recently, due to the difficult political and economic situation in many countries, the number of purchases has only increased. Thus, according to international analytical companies, the number of Russian-speaking investors who want to profitably invest their money in buying an apartment in Turkey, obtaining a residence permit and citizenship, has increased significantly.

How the conditions for buying property in Turkey have changed, what difficulties arise and what foreign investors should know - you will find answers to these and other questions in our article.

What has changed in the purchase procedure for foreigners

The procedure for buying property in Turkey for foreigners is simple, transparent and completely safe. In just a few days, with the support of professionals represented by a real estate agency, you will become the owner of high-quality apartments on the shores of the azure Mediterranean Sea.

The main stages of buying a home in Turkey:

Find an object
Conclusion of a sale and purchase agreement and making a deposit in the amount of 5–10% of the value of real estate
Preparing a package of documents for registering a transaction: a power of attorney for a realtor (if necessary), opening a bank account, issuing a TIN
Payment
Re-registration of TAPU in the name of the new owner
Conclusion of a contract for the provision of utility services

In 2022, the Turkish government made several significant changes to the rules for acquiring property by foreigners:

The presence of a mandatory currency exchange document for foreign buyers is an amendment that states that the amount of the sale of the object must be converted into Turkish lira at the exchange rate of the Central Bank. To carry out purchase and sale transactions, the Cadastral Chamber requires the investor to provide a certificate from Döviz Alım Belgesi confirming the foreign currency exchange.
Now it will become more expensive for foreigners to obtain citizenship by investing in real estate. The investment threshold for applying for a second passport under the simplified and accelerated scheme has been raised from USD 400,000 to USD 400,000.
The rules for obtaining a residence permit upon the purchase of real estate in Turkey have changed. If earlier there were no requirements for the cost of the object, now the minimum threshold for obtaining a residence permit by TAPU is 75 thousand dollars for the most popular provinces among foreign investors (Antalya, Izmir, Mersin, Istanbul and others) and 50 thousand dollars for other, less popular cities.
Another innovation that shocked many foreigners is related to the influx of legal and illegal immigrants to Turkey. In March 2022, the government closed 781 districts of the country, where the number of foreigners in relation to local citizens exceeded 25%, for obtaining a tourist residence permit and a residence permit under TAPU. Later, the list was expanded to 1200 regions with a 20% ratio of foreigners to Turks. As a result, since July 1, restrictions have affected 1,169 districts. At the moment, buying real estate in Turkey for Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Kazakhstanis and citizens of other countries in order to obtain a residence permit is prohibited in some popular areas of Alanya, Antalya, Mersin, Istanbul and other cities. In particular, the closed areas of Alanya for purchasing an apartment and receiving an ikamet card are Mahmutlar, Kestel, Avsallar and Kargicak. Of course, the new law will have an impact on the price tag of buying and renting housing in both closed and open regions.

Despite the innovations and some restrictions, the Republic of Turkey still offers a lot of advantages to foreign investors when buying property.

Are there any difficulties for Russians when buying housing in Turkey

recently there are rumors that Russians have forbidden to buy real estate in Turkey . However, this is fundamentally not true.

The acquisition of Turkish property is allowed for citizens of Russia, and the only question is the available payment methods for the object you like.

How to pay for property in Turkey - depends on whether you are going to buy housing in the primary or secondary market. If this is an apartment in a new building, an agreement is concluded with the developer and an invoice is issued for payment. The amount is transferred to the company from your ruble or foreign currency account from an unsanctioned bank in Russia. If the payment in euro does not go through (and most Turkish developers set the price tag for apartments in the resort regions of the country in euro), then an additional agreement is concluded that allows payment in dollars and sometimes even in rubles. The amount received is converted into euros at the current bank rate in Turkey.

A similar procedure when buying a home on the "secondary" for the Russians is impossible. In addition, private sellers want to have cash dollars and euros on hand. And this is one of the main reasons for the slowdown in the secondary market. A revival in the housing market among private owners was outlined after the transfer of amounts from Russian banks to their Turkish accounts of amounts reaching 50 thousand dollars a month became available to citizens of the Russian Federation. These rules will be in effect until September 30, 2022.

Summary: something to remember

And finally, here are some important reminders from Nordic Property:

In the Republic of Turkey, Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Kazakhstanis are guaranteed the right to acquire any objects in private undivided ownership: apartments, houses, commercial real estate, land plots. In rare cases, the procedure involves obtaining a document from the military department of the country that the object of sale is not located in a strictly protected area.
After buying real estate in Turkey, you can apply for a residence permit - tourist or TAPU, depending on the value of the object.
A real estate investment of $400,000 or more entitles you to apply for a second citizenship under an accelerated and simplified procedure.
The main title document for Turkish property is TAPU or Turkish title. Even a notarized contract does not give the buyer the rights of the owner.
Alternative payment methods are available to investors from abroad - interest-free installment payment from the developer for the duration of construction work.
It is not necessary to be personally present when buying an apartment in Turkey. Any purchase and sale transaction can be carried out remotely on the basis of a notarized power of attorney for an authorized person or agent of a real estate company.

If you have any questions, please contact Nordic Property. We will help you choose a liquid object and competently solve any problems when buying property in Turkey.