Turkey is currently one of the most talked about property markets in the world, with many publications ranking it as one of the top places to invest in property in 2011. Here are some of the reasons why Turkish property is so hot.

Economic Growth

According to Prime Minister Erdogan the Turkish economy grew 6.4% in 2010. While the growth of 11.4% in the first quarter, and 10.3% in the second quarter made for more exciting headlines, they were as much about the depths of recession in the first half of 2009 as they were about growth in 2010, and the level of 5-8% is much more sustainable over the mid-term.

Mortgage Growth

According to data from the Central Bank the value of mortgage loans in Turkey increased from 38.6 billion liras in the second quarter of 2009, to 48.9 billion liras in the second quarter of 2010. This represents a year on year growth of 30%. Sources say that this growth continued for the whole of 2010 and that similar growth is expected for 2011.

Tourism Growth

Different sources quote different figures on growth in Turkish tourism, but according to official government figures from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism the 27 million visitors recorded in 2009 represented a growth of 2.7% on 2008. This is confirmed by sources like the Global Flight Database which says visitor numbers grew from 16% in 2006 to 25 million in 2009.

Anna Aero reports indicate that this growth has not only continued but accelerated in 2010, with their reports showing Turkish airport traffic up by 30% in the first half of the year.

Rapid Population Growth, Especially in Cities

The Turkish population is expected to grow to 83 million by 2023, up from the current 72.5 million. Because of migration, both from within and out with Turkey, cities like Istanbul and Izmir are seeing exceptionally rapid population growth, with Istanbul’s population expected to grow by over 15% (from 12.7 million to 15 million) between now and 2015. Combined with the growth factors above this is causing exceptional demand for housing. Istanbul property is expected to be in especially high demand, as the city will need 250,000 of the total 500,000 homes needed in Turkey by 2015.

Closing Statements

All these things point to strong growth in the Turkey property market in 2011. But perhaps more importantly the country is also one of the most economically stable in Europe at the moment. Inflation, always one of Turkey’s biggest problems fell to the 41 year low of 6.4% in 2010, the budget deficit is running at around 2%, the banking system is robust, interest rates are low with no steep rises on the horizon and unemployment is also falling. All in all the future is very bright indeed.

Source: Spot Blue