Turkey Follows Spain's Example

Following a visit to Spain in late July, Turkey's Finance Minister, Kemal Unakitan, together with Culture and Tourism Minister, Atilla Koç, have decided to take the example of the Spanish model for implementing better procedures aimed at enticing a growth in property sales to foreigners. 

During their visit they conducted careful studies on just how Spain attracts foreign second home buyers to its real estate business.  The Spanish have sold one million dwellings to the foreigners to date and have received 178 billion euros from the sale of second homes to the foreigners, most of which were off-plan purchases.

Finance Minister Unakitan has stated he wants Turkish bureaucrats to work on the implementation of the Spanish model in Turkey, whereby the contracting firms carry out the infrastructural investments such as the construction of roads and bridges and environmental arrangements in the regions where the development takes place, while the administration of the developments is provided by the same or another firm.

Meanwhile, Unakitan has recently defended a lawsuit at the Constitutional Court against the Law for the Amendment to the Land Registry Law No. 5444 which limits the property sales to the foreigners.  This law has been previously brought to the Constitutional Court for its injunction and eventual annulment.

It is clear there are big plans ahead for Turkish real estate and many investors consider it wise to invest in Turkey sooner rather than later, while property prices remain very low, and before the Spanish role model kicks in.