Turkey Real estate: -35/40%, next up is Spain, UK, Russia

Turkish Daily News - Summer house prices upside down

Real estate prices in Turkey's major tourist areas have dropped by 15 percent to 40 percent, an industry executive said Saturday.

Spurred on by a 1-point reduction in mortgage rates, Antalya's real estate sector experienced a boom toward the end of 2004 and at the beginning of 2005, Sağlam said. The effect was strongly felt in such cameo tourist communities as Antalya, Alanya, Mersin, Muğla, Bodrum, Fethiye and Marmaris.

Many civil servants were able to buy houses at that time, Sağlam added, noting that a subsequent 1.9-point jump in interest rates put a damper on the buying spree, causing the construction and real estate sectors to grind to a halt.

“This increase gave rise to stagnation in the Antalyan real estate sector,” he said. “Sales suddenly stopped and began to decline, leading to a 35 to 40 percent drop in prices today.