Gov’t mulls price cap on online property listing fees amid skyrocketing costs
ANKARA
Turkish government officials are preparing to introduce a cap on online real estate listing fees, following a dramatic increase in prices that has raised concerns over market fairness and affordability.
Over the past five years, fees for listing properties on digital platforms have risen up to 25-fold, with annual packages for real estate agents increasing from around 8,000 Turkish Liras ($202) in 2020 to nearly 200,000 liras ($5073) at present.
In addition, individual users are reportedly being charged approximately 3,000 liras ($76) for a single listing.
The sharp rise in costs has had knock-on effects across the housing market. Property owners, especially landlords, have started passing these listing fees on to tenants.
Hakan Akçam, head of the Association of All Real Estate Consultants (TEDB), stressed that the monthly fees paid to digital platforms have now surpassed the rent of many real estate offices.
In response to growing complaints, authorities are now considering a regulation to impose a ceiling on listing prices to curb exploitative practices and ease market pressure.
