Following a week that saw the Turkish Lira plunge to new record lows against the Pound, Euro, and Dollar, British newspaper The Guardian note a flood of new overseas property buyers looking to grab bargains in the country – simply put; now is the time to buy in Turkey for those looking for the deal of the century. Read the full article HERE.
An apartment that would have cost £55,000 less than a month ago is now listed for sale at £37,000, resulting in foreigners flocking to Turkey to grab new homes.
In August 2017, holidaymakers and buyers would have exchanged a pound for 4.5 Lira. A steady decline since then saw the Lira slump to 6.3 Lira against the pound by mid-June this year. At the height of the Lira’s troubles this week, buyers were exchanging the pound for just under 9 Lira – meaning those who bought in the last week have effectively seen prices halve in hard currency terms compared to last year.
What does this mean for investors? Simply, a gold rush of investors and real estate buyers have flooded Turkey in the last week looking to seal deals at never-before-seen prices. Direct flights from the Middle East to Istanbul are currently fully booked, German-Turks are flying home to grab bargain properties, while European tourists are also heading to Turkey in search of the perfect holiday home.
In Bodrum, the St. Tropez of Turkey for luxury living, stunning homes with private swimming pools and spacious gardens that were selling for £500,000 less than a year ago are now down to £350,000.
Cameron Deggin of Property Turkey says: “It’s a buyer’s market right now, and buyers are rushing in as if properties are going out of fashion. We generally receive 50 inquiries per day, and get about 2,500 views of our website, but in the past few days both have been running at double normal levels. Buyers are clearly looking for opportunities before the drop in Lira is compensated – at least partially – by increases in asking prices.”
This opportunity however, won’t last forever – some developers whose costs are partially denominated in US dollars have started raising prices of off plan Turkish properties to compensate for the exchange rate.