Domestic Housing Sales Sharply Decreased in January

Domestic housing sales sharply decreased in January. The difficulty in obtaining loans from banks was reflected in a decrease in housing sales.

Expanding loan opportunities and lowered interest rates due to the pandemic in 2020 brought record housing sales in Turkey. In July, when sales were highest in 2020, sales increased by 124 percent compared to the previous year. However, when we entered the last quarter of the year, the increase in interest rates due to the tight monetary policy and the decrease in sales made it inevitable. In the first month of 2021, house sales decreased by 37.9 percent compared to the same month of the previous year and were recorded as 70 thousand 587. In housing sales, Istanbul ranked first with 13 thousand 666 house sales and 19.4 percent, followed by Ankara with 6 thousand 635 houses and 9.4 percent. Izmir followed Ankara with 4 thousand 63 house sales and 5.8 percent share. The provinces with the lowest number of housing sales were recorded as Hakkari with 10 houses, Ardahan with 16 houses and Bayburt with 31 houses, respectively.   Mortgage Sales Decreased Mortgaged house sales across the country in January 2021 decreased by 74.6 percent compared to the same month of the previous year and were recorded as 10,732. The share of mortgage sales in total house sales was recorded as 15.2 percent. In mortgage sales, Istanbul ranked first with 2 thousand 338 house sales and 21.8 percent share. The provinces with the least mortgage sales were Ardahan and Bayburt with 1 house each. Mortgaged houses were not sold in Hakkari and Şırnak provinces. Other home sales fell 16.1 percent in Turkey in January 2021 compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching 59 thousand 855. In other house sales, Istanbul ranked first with 11 thousand 328 houses and 18.9 percent share. The share of other sales in total house sales in Istanbul was 82.9 percent. Ankara ranked second with 5 thousand 375 other housing sales. İzmir followed Ankara with 3 thousand 291 house sales. The province with the least housing sales was Hakkari with 10 houses.   Number of Houses Sold for the First Time Decreased The number of homes sold for the first time across Turkey decreased by 38.2 percent in January 2021 compared to the same month of the previous year and was recorded as 22,268. The share of the first sale in total house sales was 31.5 percent. In the first sales, Istanbul had the highest share with 3,746 house sales and 16.8 percent, followed by Ankara with 1,649 house sales and İzmir with 1,233 sales. Second hand house sales across Turkey decreased by 37.7 percent in January 2021 compared to the same month of the previous year and became 48 thousand 319. In second-hand house sales, Istanbul took the first place with 9 thousand 920 house sales and 20.5 percent share. The share of second hand sales in total house sales in Istanbul was 72.6 percent. Ankara took the second place with the sale of 4 thousand 986 houses. İzmir followed Ankara with 2 thousand 830 house sales.   Number of Houses Sold to Foreigners Decreased In the said period, the sale of houses sold to foreigners decreased by 31.5 percent compared to the same month of the previous year and became 2 thousand 675. In the housing sales made to foreigners, Istanbul took the first place in January 2021 with the sale of 1,380 houses. Istanbul was followed by Antalya with 462 house sales, Ankara with 179 house sales, Mersin with 131 house sales and Bursa with 75 house sales. During the said period, Iranian citizens bought 459 houses from Turkey. Iran was followed by Iraq with 385 houses, Russian Federation with 260 houses, Afghanistan with 168 houses and Yemen with 88 houses.