Istanbul needs over 122,000 new houses each year

ISTANBUL

Considering the increasing demand for housing and the current rate of supply, Istanbul requires an average of 122,000 new residential units per year, according to new research.

The megacity with a population of more than 15 million people will need 1.22 million houses over the next 10 years, the PwC Türkiye report said. Last year's report put this figure at 1.23 million.

Istanbul's population is projected to increase by 3 percent to reach 16.2 million by 2034, while the number of households is expected to see a significant rise of 20 percent, reaching 6 million.

This growth is primarily driven by an increase in single-person households, which is expected to contribute to the ongoing downsizing of housing types, according to the report.

"The household structure and demographic composition are changing,” said Ramadan Kumova, board chairman of the Housing Developers and Investors Association (KONUTDER), which commissioned the report.

In addition to the declining average household size, the rising number of single individuals indicates a shift in housing types and a growing demand for smaller apartments, such as studio flats, he noted.

“Since current regulations do not allow developers to fully meet this need, we believe this issue should be up for discussion again,” Kumova said.

More than 239,000 houses changed hands in Istanbul in 2024, when the housing market in Türkiye expanded by 20.6 percent from the prior year with 1.48 million units sold.