Turkish buy-to-let 'gaining from exchange rates'

Buy-to-let tourist rentals in Turkey are thriving thanks to a surge of British visitors caused by the favourable exchange rate, an investor has noted.

Libby Garside told the Daily Mail that she and her husband Ted rent out their villa in the Mediterranean coastal resort of Kalkan when they are not holidaying there with their daughters.

Observing a rise in demand from Britons for its use, she said: "More consumers seem to be looking to Turkey as a holiday destination due to rising costs in more traditional European resorts and also because of the terrible sterling to euro exchange rate."

The paper stated that foreign exchange firms have also seen a rise in the trading of sterling for Turkish lira and Egyptian pounds as tourists look for cheaper alternatives to the eurozone.

In contrast, it observed, the poor return on UK pounds converted into euros is making travel to many traditional destinations more expensive.

Turkish lira could be even less expensive soon as the value is expected to drop with an anticipated cut in the country's interest rates, overseas investor magazine BuyAssociation has noted.

It said this could effectively make Turkish homes seven per cent cheaper.