Iranians Second Biggest Foreign Buyers of Real Estate in Turkey

According to the report, Iraqis with 7,596 deals were the biggest foreign buyers of homes in Turkey last year, ILNA reported.

Iranians were followed by Russians with 2,893 purchases, Afghans with 2,191 and Yemenis with 1,564, according to Financial Tribune.

Foreigners bought a total of 45,483 homes in Turkey in 2019, registering a 14.7% rise compared with 2018.  

Out of the total sum, 20,857 homes were located in Istanbul, 8,951 in Antalya, 2,539 in Ankara, 2,213 in Bursa and 1,696 in Yalova. 

Iranians continue to take greater interest in investing in Turkey, according to a statement issued by Elit Citizenship and Investment Consultancy, which offers consultancy services to foreigners in Turkey on founding a company and making investments under the brand of VIPTurkishPass.

While 3 million Iranian tourists visit Turkey annually, a remarkable increase has also been seen in the number of Iranians investing in Turkey, Daily Sabah reported.

In the last few years, Iranians ranked first in applying for Turkish citizenship through investment. 

By implementing a series of policies aimed at attracting foreign direct investment in recent years, Turkey has succeeded in attracting many investors from regional countries, especially from the Middle East.

After the "Turkuaz Kart" (Turquoise Card), a practice similar to the US Green Card application, was launched in 2016, it became possible to get Turkish citizenship by investing in the country as of 2017.

In September 2018, the lowering of the minimum investment limit in the Citizenship Through Investment Program to $250,000 in real-estate investments led to an increase in foreigners' interest in the country.

While a significant portion of FDI in Turkey has been made in the real-estate industry, there has also been a remarkable increase in indirect capital investment in recent times.

According to data provided by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, Iranians ranked first among foreigners who registered companies in Turkey during the first 10 months of 2019. 

From January to October, 10,682 foreign investment companies were opened in Turkey, of which Iranian investors registered 49 publicly listed and 772 private limited companies to come in first among foreigners who have made FDI in Turkey by setting up companies there. 

Germans with 45 companies, Azerbaijanis with 31, Americans with 22, the Dutch with 19 and the UAE with 17 companies were top investors in Turkey during the 10-month period under review after Iranians.