Real Estate Turkey sees 17% drop in foreign property buyers in November By Reuters December 16, 2022 Unsplash.com Russians topped the list of foreigners with 2,575 houses purchased Turkish home sales fell 34.1 percent year-on-year in November to 117,806 houses, with sales to foreigners dropping 17.4 percent, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed on Thursday. Russians topped the list of foreigners with 2,575 houses purchased, reflecting how many have sought a financial haven in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and the fallout of Western sanctions. Russians were followed by Iranians, Iraqis and Ukrainians among the foreign buyers. Some 13,000 people in Turkey’s southern Antalya province have signed a petition since last month, seeking a ban on foreigners in the real estate market over soaring house prices and rents. The data also showed November mortgaged sales declined 57.7 percent from a year earlier to 16,655 houses, accounting for 14.1. percent of the total sales in the period. Meanwhile, Turkish central bank’s net international reserves leapt some $3.6 billion to $26.76 billion in the week to December 9, hitting their highest level this year. In July, the net forex reserves dropped to $6.07 billion, their lowest in at least 20 years, but since rebounded. Forex reserves have dropped sharply in recent years due to market interventions and in the wake of a currency crisis in December. The lira lost 44 percent of its value against the US dollar last year.
