Property investors eye up properties in Istanbul

Wednesday 26th October 2011

With demand continuing to outstrip the supply of residential properties in Istanbul, a growing number of property investors are looking to take advantage of high rental yields and property price growth being generated by the supply-demand imbalance in the Turkish capital.

It is estimated that demand for properties in Istanbul is outstripping supply by around 70,000 residential units each year. But estate agents Colordarcy report that such is the need locally for contemporary properties to cater for the ever growing population that many development projects are not even released to international investors because the marketplace is so strong.

Loxley McKenzie, managing director of  Colordarcy, recently visited Istanbul in September and was amazed by the volume of investors in the city snapping up units.

Loxley said, “Istanbul is undoubtedly the preferred marketplace in terms of property at this time and it is hard to see any other contender for this crown in the forseeable future. Local demand for property is sky high and although Turkish nationals form the largest demographic in terms of investors it was clear to see that Russian and British investors also are benefitting, albeit by a far lower percentage.”

McKenzie reports that there is an abundance of British buy-to-let investors pouring into Istanbul because there is typically 60% LTV mortgages available with rental yields of up to 10% not uncommon.

“Perhaps the biggest drawback is that lots of projects are never released to the international community as many developers are safe in the knowledge that they can sell within,” McKenzie added.