Home sales to foreigners in Türkiye fall amid price surge, citizenship debate

ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s housing market reached a new record high in 2025, yet sales to foreign buyers dropped to their lowest level in nine years.

Analysts attribute the downturn to rapidly rising property prices and ongoing debates over citizenship, with proposals emerging to replace citizenship incentives with residence permits as a means to reshape the system.

According to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), foreigners purchased 21,534 homes last year, marking a 9.4 percent decline compared with 2024.

Foreign demand for Turkish real estate had surged following the enactment of the Reciprocity Law in 2012, peaking at 67,490 units in 2022.

However, over the past three years, a sharp contraction has been observed. Market observers note that escalating domestic prices have been the primary deterrent, while the citizenship program has also come under scrutiny, prompting calls for a shift toward residence-based incentives for international investors.

Among foreign buyers, Russians led the market with 3,649 purchases, followed by Iranians with 1,878, Ukrainians with 1,541, Germans with 1,376 and Iraqis with 1,292.

Istanbul remained the top destination, accounting for 7,989 sales, ahead of Antalya with 7,118 and the southern province of Mersin with 1,800.