Monday, December 11, 2006

Foreign investors are showing a serious interest in capital ventures in Turkey's non-financial sector. Positive developments in the economy and success of the programs implemented by the he International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the safety deriving from Turkey's European Union process, have all contributed to trust in the Turkish market. As a result Turkish companies have been increasingly partnering and conducting transactions with big foreign companies.


Koç Group recently sold its Izocam and Döktaş divisions to foreign investors. The IMKB's publicly held corporation Idaş has a foreign suitor in European bed manufacturer Hilding. Food producer Penguen Gıda and Turkey's biggest seamless apparel producer Metemteks, have also signed partnership contacts with foreign investors.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

The Turkish Red Crescent Society (Kizilay) general management has issued a tender for the sale of its real estate in Antalya's Serik district. The 42,473 square meter plot is in a tourism area by the sea. The land will be sold through closed envelope bidding at the Kızılay general management building in Ankara on Nov. 24.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Five years ago it became possible for foreigners to buy Turkish property . As business booms we look at the options for city slickers and sun-worshippers.

Perfect skies, blue seas, golden beaches - Turkey has got them all, but, for now at least, instead of being overrun with tourists, much of it remains relatively unspoilt, so ideal for holiday-home seekers. Of the 51,044 homes owned by foreigners in Turkey in 2005, some 9,298 (or 18 per cent) are in UK hands, according to Turkish government data, up from just 2,420 in 2003.

There is a variety of property and prices on the Turquoise Coast, the most sought-after area of Turkey where the Mediterranean and Aegean meet. Alanya property experts Jasmin Real Estate say that the most popular locations for British and Irish buyers are Belek and Mahmutlar, with Alanya still very popular with the Dutch and Scandinavian market. "Although Belek and Alanya were fairly unknown to the British and Irish market a few years ago, they are now starting to discover the huge range of property available " says a Jasmin Real Estate spokesman.

Michael Doig of Colliers CRE, a British property consultancy that monitors Turkey's housing market, says: "Like many countries that are becoming the focus of British residential investors, growth is estimated at anywhere from 10 to 40 per cent a year."

Turkey's Muslim conventions don't prevail in resorts, but there are some idiosyncrasies that can catch out foreign buyers. In some areas, for example, it's hard for Britons to buy a car without being full-time residents, and shipping large items to Turkey. is tricky and costly.

But the most significant problem until recently has been the country's volatile economy. This has been a deterrent to property investors, especially as slow progress on reforms have led to faltering talks on Turkey's EU membership.

As recently as 2001, the Turkish economy was associated with soaring inflation, black-market activity and high levels of national debt. Even in 2004, 40 per cent of government spending was on interest payments on debts. But in the last two years, to win support for EU membership, Turkey has changed.

The country has brought inflation down to its lowest level since the mid-1970s, annual growth is now a staggering 9 per cent, and it is setting up systems of land registry to prevent disputes over ownership.

"The transformation has been dramatic. The introduction of a Turkish mortgage system this year will stimulate demand for domestic housing and drive prices up. There's been a liberalisation of foreign property-ownership laws, with new legislation in 2005, and the possibility of EU accession has increased foreign investment," says Alise Crossick of a UK property consultancy.

Given the many agents now marketing to Britons, it is amazing that Turkey only allowed foreigners to buy property in 2001. In five years it has become popular, helped by the fact that all property is freehold and eligible for inheritance by spouses or offspring.

Turkey is already a firm favourite. And, for the moment at least, a competitively priced one.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Tourist numbers to Turkey are forecast to grow through 2006, despite the outbreak of avain flu. Tourism and Culture Minister Atilla Koc predicted “above 21 million” compared with last year's total of 20.5 million visitors

The original aim for 2006 was to attract 26 million tourists, and even though this now seems unrealistic, the fact that numbers are still improving even with the setbacks suffered this year shows the strength of the market.

"I've put the target at 26 million for 2006... Maybe it won't be 26 million, but it will be ... above 21 million," Koc said at a conference in the Mediterranean resort of Belek, the Anatolia news agency reported.

A record 20.5 million foreigners visited Turkey last year and the tourism industry, a vital source of foreign revenue and employment, earned the country $18.15 billion, a 14 percent increase over 2004.

The increase in people taking their holidays outside of package tour operators and opting to travel independently means that those with property in Turkey and Alanya property have even more opportunity to make money from it through rentals.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

The Turkish lira strengthened to a three-month high against the dollar on Wednesday as the central bank showed it has regained market confidence and the U.S. Fed halted its two-year interest-raising cycle. The Turkish lira continued to climb against the dollar and the euro yesterday, gaining 1.58 percent in value in the Istanbul free market while one dollar was traded at YTL 1.4457. The Turkish lira also gained value against the euro to stand at YTL 1.8706.



The Istanbul Stock Exchange (İMKB) National 100 Index rose 822.49 points in the second session to close at 37,563.33 points. The shares' average daily gain was 2.81 points, thus causing the İMKB main index to match its June 2006 value. Generally, Turkish markets met the Fed's decision to hold rates positively. The dollar saw some selling and the U.S. bourses closed lower yesterday, said a banker.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Turkish real estate companies expect the building and property sector to grow by more than 10 percent this year, while up to four property firms will list on the stock market, the business association head said.

Turkey's economy, which suffered a financial crisis in 2001, is now enjoying strong growth and is attracting foreign investors. Haluk Sur, who heads the Association of Real Estate Investment Companies (GYODER), reckons the real estate and construction sector will outpace overall economic growth this year to become a more important chunk of the economy.

Sur, who is also chief executive of İhlas, one of 10 listed real estate investment trusts (REIT), said three or four more REITs will list on the stock market this year as part of a wider boom in new share sales.

"[Growth] may not be 20 percent but not less than 10," Sur told Reuters in an interview.
In recent years the real estate and construction sectors have made up about 10 percent of Gross National Product, which has been seen growing to YTL 539.9 billion ($381 billion according to government calculations).

That would be slower than the construction sector's exceptional 19.7 percent growth in the first nine months last year, outpacing 5.5 percent for the whole economy, as interest rates fell and the market suddenly picked up after years in the doldrums due to the financial crisis. In some parts of Istanbul, Turkey's largest city with a population of 12 million and 3 million homes, real estate prices rose as much as 150 to 200 percent last year, Sur said.

"[From now on] the price increase in the real estate market will be more meaningful, and may be 9 to 10 or 12 percent."

One of the reasons behind the boom is an increase in home ownership rates in Turkey as economic growth translates into higher spending power.

"In my opinion it may go up to 70 to 75 percent in the coming 10 years," said Sur, who also sees opportunities in possible public-private partnerships to redevelop Turkey's shanty towns and areas where housing is not resilient to earthquakes.

Economists expect lower borrowing rates -- currently at 13.5 percent -- and lower inflation after years of double-digit levels.

Turkey's candidacy to joint the European Union also is likely to help fuel foreign interest in construction and property, following the example of the EU's new Eastern European members, they say.

"Turkey has underdeveloped construction as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product. If you look at offices [per capita], it's tiny compared to EU countries," said Mark Robinson, head of research at CA IB International Markets.

"It's sustainable, because we've seen this downturn for the last four or five years. There's a lot of catch-up in Turkey," he added.

A new law allowing mortgages is awaiting final approval in Parliament and is likely to further drive the real estate sector.

But Ihlas's Sur did not expect radical changes soon, because the country first needs to firmly establish a secondary market to make mortgages secure, which could take a couple of years.

Thursday, June 01, 2006


ANKARA - Turkish Daily News

Turkey concluded its accession talks on the first of the 35 negotiating
chapters with the European Union yesterday, passing a critical
threshold in its membership process, but difficulties that surrounded
the event showed that many more Cyprus-related obstacles lie ahead.

The Greek Cypriots dropped their objection to the opening and
conclusion of the talks on the science and research chapter after the
EU agreed, following several hours of intense negotiations in
Luxembourg at the ministerial level, to mention Ankara's obligation to
open its ports and airports to traffic from Greek Cyprus and to refer
to a declaration issued in September calling on Turkey to recognize and
normalize its ties with the Greek Cypriot administration.



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Greek Cyprus is now set to work to toughen the tone of an EU statement that will be issued after a summit later this week.

The EU position paper for talks on science and research says the talks were closed only provisionally, a sign of the Cyprus row hovering like the sword of Democles over Ankara's head throughout the rest of its accession process.

Greek Cyprus has the right to veto Turkey's talks at the opening or closing of talks on each of the remaining 34 chapters.

"This process has its difficulties and its ups and downs. What is important is to live with them and reach the eventual goal of full membership," Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül told reporters before departing for Luxembourg together with State Minister Ali Babacan, Turkey's chief negotiator for EU talks.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

A total of 1,206 pieces of property were sold to foreigners in the first quarter of this year. Showing that even the temporary withdrawal of the rights of foreigners to buy Turkish property did little to dampen enthusiasm in the market.

According to data provided by the Land Registry General Directorate and reported in Turkish Daily News, from Jan. 7, 2006 through to mid April, the total number of properties sold to foreigners was 1,206.

More and more different nationalities are purchasing in Turkey. The figures show citizens from 24 countries bought real estate there, though British buyers are still the most committed to Turkish property . During the period in question 588 British citizens, most preferring the south of Turkey, bought 420 pieces of real estate, followed by the Germans, Irish, Dutch, Norwegians, Belgians and Greeks.

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