I don’t know about you, but when I am planning to make a major purchase I like to way up the pros and cons of each choice before making a decision. And if a property isn’t a major purchase I don’t know what is. So, I thought the readers of this blog might like to read what we see as the pros and cons of buying a property in Turkey.

The Cons of Buying a Property in Turkey

Strong currency: while the lira is currently riding at about the running average, for several months it has been very strong. When the lira gains 15 kurus (Turkish equivalent of the penny) against the pound, Turkish property becomes almost 10% more expensive. With the UK economy growth at around 2% year on year, and Turkish economy growing at around 11%, a strong Lira is pretty much a certainty for the foreseeable future.

Mortgages on Completed Property Only: We often hear about how Turkish banks weathered the financial storm, because they were reformed after Turkey’s 2001 economic crash, as a good thing. But these reforms made lending a lot more cautious. Now banks will very rarely lend on anything but built property, with only very few off plan opportunities offering finance, depending on the developer. However, in most cases it is best to raise finance in your own country for an overseas property purchase, so this is not a huge problem.

EU Membership a Long Way Off: While this is far from being as big a deal as it used to be many potential buyers will always go for countries within the EU. While this buyer is usually looking for an established market like Spain or Italy anyway, EU membership for any country is one huge step towards at least appearing established, and always increases property sales.

The Pros of Buying Property in Turkey

Strong Growth: As was mentioned above the Turkish economy has powered out of recession into 11% growth in the 1st half of the year. This is increasing the affluence of the country’s population, and along with high liquidity and low interest rates, is stirring in them demand for houses and second houses to buy rent, which of course is meeting with massively increasing demand from foreigners, to put severe upward pressure on prices.

Excellent Value for Money: Turkey property prices haven’t caught up with the rest of the country’s strengths, and are still some of the cheapest in Europe and the World. Those who can’t afford to buy on the continental Mediterranean Coast find property in Antalya>, on Turkey’s Med coast from £33k for a 1 bedroom apartment walking distance from the sea, 15 mins from the airport, and with a 5% guaranteed rental yield for the first 2 years. Unbeatable value for money.

Solid/Good Rental Yields: Global Property Guide recently identified that Turkish property is seriously undervalued. According to their detailed research per square meter prices in Istanbul average 2,386EUR, compared to 6,622EUR in Athens, 5,690EUR in Helsinki, and 11,851 in Moscow. Undervalued property indicates strong rental yields. According to the same research report, average rental yields in Istanbul are 6.10%, which is above the global average and within the bounds of a good investment destination. From our reports we also know that 6% is about average for the rest of Turkey as well.

Those are simply the main pros, there are many more when you refine your property search to the region and city level. For example, accessibility: take Antalya mentioned above, which has one of the best served airports in Turkey, with many new flights added in the last 18 months even during an international travel downturn, and excellent coverage by UK low cost airlines.

Well, I hope I have given you an overview of the decision making process, I am sure that you, knowing why and where you are considering buying can come up with a bigger list.

Julian Walker – Spot Blue Overseas Property