How is the Istanbul property market at the moment?

[chrisd]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me what the sale and rental property market is actually like at the moment in Istanbul, free of marketing hype?

- How is it recovering from the credit crunch?
- Are properties selling or renting out quickly, or do they stay on the estate agents books for a long time?
- Are buyers able to get mortgages?
- Are sellers asking realistic prices or holding out for high prices and so not selling well?
- How much did prices drop from their peak, and have they recovered?

Chris

 

[muzwalks]

Istanbul property

Sorry Chris I'm not able to answer your question since I'm also learning about the market in Istanbul. I'm curious to see what the experts have to say in response to your post - I also have my own questions and I'm wanting to somehow breathe life into this thread so hopefully we can get the much needed help we are both after.

I've also written the same post elsewhere on the site so forgive me if you've read this before. (I promise not to do it again since I have found the right place for it)

Here goes:

I'm in contact with a few property brokers based in England <snip>) and they've both got me excited about developments in the Beylikduzu suburb of Istanbul. Single bedrooms start at about 55000 quid which seems reasonable enough. They guarantee 2 years of 7% yield. I have the following issues though:

1) I'm expected to fork out an additional 7000quid for the furniture pack which seems a ludicrous price to pay for 50sqm of furniture. I'm told that in order to guarantee the 7% yield, the place must be kitted out with the best of the Martha Stewart collection. What addles me is that after the 2 years, when my furniture will be 2 years old, I'm told I can still get a further 3 years of 7% yield. So if I can get the yield with second-hand furniture (after the 2 years),why can't I just buy second-hand furniture to begin with at half the cost? I'm guessing that the management company (UPPInternational) makes a killing on the furniture so that if there are periods of vacancy, they can just pull that month's rent out of the furniture fund thereby guaranteeing that continuous 7% yield. Any comments about this?

2) Property Frontiers wants be to buy a unit in a completed development because then I can get immediate rental income whereas Experience International reckons it's better to buy off-plan because by locking in the price midway through construction, you can experience 20% capital gains on completion. Has anyone got experience with these two buying options?

 

[Azure]

Careful

Hi,

I've watched the Istanbul property market for the last 4 years and have indeed purchased several properties here.

I really am not a fan of areas like bey Beylikduzu and similar areas far out of city centre. Especially when I see ridiculous rental guarantees being offered. In such areas it is not easy to get good rental yields and I don't feel price growth is that good anyway.

It seems that various UK agents are offering property in areas that seem cheap by UK standards yet it is difficult to see the investment merits in such property.

In my view Istanbul has some of the highest growth prospects in the world but only in the right locations in this huge City. You should be looking in more Central areas where the is much higher demand for rentals and resales. The areas in the outskirts are flooded with new property and therefore are targeted at foreign buyers.

In my experience I have always had my properties rented with double digit net yields and in good locations prices haven even gone up a little during the credit crunch. This is not the case with properties so far out of Istanbul. Don't be tempted by rental guarantees and the furniture package prices quoted sound laughable.

In good areas that are in high demand developers don't need to advertise through UK agents. There is sufficient local demand.

 

[Dave_Velasco]

I agree. I think only one some locations of Istanbul does have positive feedback when it comes to housing and property market, but not as a whole for Istanbul.

 

[INVESTMENTGURU]

Hey guys

Sorry to here about some horror stories. I posted on other thread but just saw this one so i'll re-post. Istanbul is good ivestment but only in correct regions. Many developments offering deals to good to be true, Trust me. Ive learnt hard way but now am very happy. here is my story

Hey Guys

I been reading all your posts and just like to say go for an investment in Istanbul it’s great. I started a couple of years ago and have a number of properties now. In Istanbul there are lots of great areas which are fairly cheap but on the rise. For instance I just purchased 2 flats in Belikduzu region (off plan, but very near completion - August 2012). So I don’t need to worry about the project being delayed as its almost complete, plus I still save 10% on property value, as it’s off-plan!) Belikduzu will increase in value significantly as it’s located near main airport and will be part of the new METRO car system for transport allowing people to access most of Istanbul in less than an hour (think of it as London’s underground). Prices start at £800 per square meter (total 102sqm) but I negotiated a good deal, I won’t go into figures but it works out around 5%. I’m guaranteed £2400 a year rent from developers so I don’t need to worry about estate agent or tenants as I’m in UK, I could get more privately but don’t need hassle! AND IN THE SUMMER PRICES WILL GO UP 10% ON COMPLETION. So I’m happy. I have seen lots of people with cheaper houses but the development I chose is a luxury development from a reputable company (I did my research),don’t buy cheap quality building its always a let-down, trust me I learnt the hard way. Plus during last earthquake Belikduzu was relatively undamaged – although the building is earthquake proof). Anyway in conclusion I’m guaranteed around 3-4% rent yield plus a capital increase in my property of 15% by the summer. The place I bought is called icitylife. If anybody has any questions please post me a note.

Good house hunting girls and boys!

 

[Childa]

Istanbul area

My husband and I bought an off plan apartment in the Esenyurt area of Istanbul (only about 10km from Beylikdüzü) about 3 years ago. After a sluggish start to get it rented (more due to the agent than the area I believe) it has been continually rented.

To reply to muzwalks re furniture packs - we also faced the same dilemma. The furniture company obviously wanted to sell their stuff so told us that it would be better if the apartment was furnished. The renting agent told us the opposite though and said it´s better if apartments are unfurnished and, if you do go for the furniture and it´s not needed, where do you put it?

We decided to go for unfurnished and it´s not been a problem for us.

Hope this helps.

 

[danielo24]

It's always good to hear other people's experience of getting property. I'm looking at getting a place in Istanbul so will take the advice given greatly.

 

[seoprofessor]

Istanbul Property

Hi,

I've watched the Istanbul property market for the last 4 years and have indeed purchased several properties here.

I really am not a fan of areas like bey Beylikduzu and similar areas far out of city centre. Especially when I see ridiculous rental guarantees being offered. In such areas it is not easy to get good rental yields and I don't feel price growth is that good anyway.

It seems that various UK agents are offering property in areas that seem cheap by UK standards yet it is difficult to see the investment merits in such property.

In my view Istanbul has some of the highest growth prospects in the world but only in the right locations in this huge City. You should be looking in more Central areas where the is much higher demand for rentals and resales. The areas in the outskirts are flooded with new property and therefore are targeted at foreign buyers.

In my experience I have always had my properties rented with double digit net yields and in good locations prices haven even gone up a little during the credit crunch. This is not the case with properties so far out of Istanbul. Don't be tempted by rental guarantees and the furniture package prices quoted sound laughable.

In good areas that are in high demand developers don't need to advertise through UK agents. There is sufficient local demand.

I'm hearing conflicting information about Beylikduzu at the moment. Gem Invest is saying 30% growth in. A Place in the Sun have also said that they expect the population to increase 5-fold. Surely this is evidence that this is one of the best areas to invest in Istanbul at the moment?

 

[istanbul]

you are right ! there are also some areas construction held by municipality.

 

[obahlouli]

My husband and I bought an off plan apartment in the Esenyurt area of Istanbul (only about 10km from Beylikdüzü) about 3 years ago. After a sluggish start to get it rented (more due to the agent than the area I believe) it has been continually rented.

To reply to muzwalks re furniture packs - we also faced the same dilemma. The furniture company obviously wanted to sell their stuff so told us that it would be better if the apartment was furnished. The renting agent told us the opposite though and said it´s better if apartments are unfurnished and, if you do go for the furniture and it´s not needed, where do you put it?

We decided to go for unfurnished and it´s not been a problem for us.

Hope this helps.

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience.

I would love to get in touch with you to learn more about the expectations from buying an off-plan property, rental returns, management companies, etc. I donno why I can't PM in this forum :s