The research covering the third quarter of 2022 for the foreign real estate sales index GIGDEKS has been announced. According to GIGDEKS 6 data, the index reached its highest level since its inception, reaching 152.2 points.
GIGDEKS 6, which examines the third quarter of 2022, with the participation of 35 companies affiliated with the Real Estate Promotion Association Abroad (GIGDER), has been published. According to GIGDEKS data, which continues to increase the sector's added value, the average sales price of the sector, which surpassed the $200,000 threshold for the first time in the previous quarter, reached $245,814. Thus, the index, which approached the $250,000 range, further solidified the rapid rise it achieved in GIGDEKS 5 with a new record. Additionally, GIGDEKS 6 reached its highest level since its inception, with a score of 152.2.
These data are seen as a result of the increasing interest of Russian investors in Turkey, especially after the Russia-Ukraine war, and the expansion of the investor destination portfolio. Other sector data also reinforce this. For example, according to the data of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), in the first 9 months of 2022, more than 50,000 foreigners invested in real estate in Turkey, making the country a leader in real estate demand for Russians. Russian investment in real estate in Turkey increased by 199% to reach 9,311 units in the first 9 months of the year compared to the same period in 2021. The number of properties purchased by Ukrainians increased by 125% to 1,775. In the first 9 months of the year, Iranians bought 6,540, Iraqis 5,255, Germans 2,058, Kazakhs 2,045, Afghans 1,487, Kuwaitis 1,318, Yemenis 1,045, and Americans 1,032 properties.
According to GIGDEKS 6 data, sector representatives, whose hopes for foreign sales were somewhat shattered in the previous quarter and who expected a decrease due to sales brought forward, have now renewed their hopes for the last quarter of the year. Almost 1 in 2 sector representatives believe that sales will increase in the last quarter of 2022, and this parameter is on the rise.
One of the agenda questions asked to GIGDER members in GIGDEKS 6 is whether the Golden Visa program will increase foreign investor sales. 77.1% of sector representatives think that sales will increase through such a program, while only 5.2% say it will not.
According to the GIGDEKS survey, 52% of members answered 'no' to the question 'Have you had customers who are digital nomads, meaning remote workers who prefer to live in Turkey, in the last 3 months?' So, those who say they don't have digital nomads among their customers have a somewhat higher percentage compared to those who do. However, it is noted that the balance could change with specific regulations to attract this new social class, which many countries are currently pursuing.
