Turkey Financial News

Netherlands-based Acteeum Group, a privately owned real estate development and asset management company, will continue to invest in Turkey amid widespread belief that Turkey has lost its ability to attract investors to the real estate market.

Acteeum Group, which is undertaking the construction of a shopping center with a value of 360 million euros on the Asian side of Istanbul, also laid the foundation of a new project in Samsun. (more…)

Just as Turkey looks as if it is shaping up to become the next major holiday-home and investment destination, its government has stopped title deeds being issued to foreigners.

The country did it for six months in 2005, too, in an attempt to prevent large tracts of rural land being bought up. The latest ban - announced in April and awaiting ratification in parliament - has a similar purpose, limiting foreign ownership to 10 per cent of the land in any town.

Agents selling in Turkey expect the restriction to be lifted soon. “I don’t see it as a problem, as you could never expect to receive your title deeds within three months anyway,” says Julian Walker from Turkish property specialist Spot Blue. “For anyone buying now, the suspension will have ended by the time they reach completion.” (more…)

Parliament yesterday debated the law that regulates the sale of land to foreigners. Some experts believes the new act will allow for more land to be sold to foreigners, while others believe it will bring more limitations, as it will make the procedures more confusing.

Yet, another long-standing issue is will selling land to foreigners become a threat to Turkey’s security and independence?

“It should not be overlooked that taking hold of land [by foreign entities] will also mean giving away political and cultural independence,” read a press statement by the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects, or TMMOB. (more…)

The “Island of Turkey” is among 300 properties in the World Islands Project, a land reclamation project in Dubai created by real estate company Nakheel Properties.

The island was sold to Günal İnşaat, an affiliate of MNG Holding, for $50 million. Günal İnşaat plans to construct luxurious villas on the island.

Nakheel Properties initiated the luxury island development along with a series of other artificial island projects in 2003. The development, which sits four kilometers from the city center, features numerous islands designed to resemble a city or country. Completed in January, the islands offer an image of the world in a very concentrated area. (more…)

The Turkish real estate sector is preparing to welcome leading British real estate investment company Savills the next season.

As an initial investment, the company plans to devote 400 million euros to Turkey in the hope of reaping 25 percent net profits from the market.

The international credit crunch has an adverse impact on the real estate sectors in developed countries, while developing countries, including Turkey, are on the verge of recovery, said Ian Jones, property investment director of Savills. (more…)

Turkish real estate agents and foreign buyers remain at loggerheads over Parliament’s failure to pass a law regarding the purchase of property by foreigners.

Despite the government’s promise to pass the law as soon as possible, recent political tensions have stalled the necessary amendments to Turkey’s Title Deed Law, halting all sale of property to foreigners for the moment.

With the advent of summer, foreigners, who believe they have purchased property in Turkey, are arriving by charter planes only to find they cannot collect their property because of legislative delays – a situation that is making real estate agents furious over the delay in passing the law. (more…)

Turkey’s convergence process with the European Union and macroeconomic stability should boost foreign interest in Turkish real estate, Akın Tüzün, head of Turkish equity research at Citigroup, said yesterday.

Speaking at the Turkish Real Estate Summit organized by The Association of Real Estate Investment Companies (GYODER) in Istanbul, Tüzün noted Turkey currently attracts around $3 billion foreign investment into the local real estate sector. “This is less than 0.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – a low figure as such if compared to Eastern Europe, and particularly to Spain, Portugal and Greece.” With close to $50 billion in current account deficit, Turkey needs substantial foreign capital inflow. As portfolio inflows and major privatizations slow down this year, Turkey has to attract foreign capital particularly in real estate,” Tüzün added. (more…)

Turkey’s impressive cultural and architectural heritage deserve preserving as developers turn a covetous eye to its coast, a world-renowned architect warned at a real estate symposium held Saturday in Bodrum.

“What differentiates architecture from construction is delight, which ensures sustainability,” said acclaimed architect and New York University professor Richard England, whose works may be found as far afield as Kazakhstan and Malta. “Architecture should create places for the soul, not just the body. An important element of this architecture is to create something with, and in which we can put, a bit of love.” (more…)