Istanbul- I faced Türkiye Over the past years, a series of complex economic challenges have emerged, particularly following the lira crisis in 2018.

These challenges had a very important impact on the political scene, as the economic situation occupied a central place in discussions between the ruling blocs and opposition parties, and various economic sectors were affected by these transformations, especially the construction sector, which represented about 8.5% of the gross domestic product in 2017, before To decline significantly to below 5% by 2022, a contraction of 4.7% on average over just 4 years.

essential pillar

The real estate sector in Turkey was previously viewed as a fundamental pillar for supporting economic growth and attracting external capital, as well as being a vital source of hard currency, as it constituted about 57.5% of the total fixed capital formation in 2018 before it decreased to 41.8% in 2022.

The decline represents a noticeable indicator of the challenges facing the construction sector, and also opens the door to re-examining the future of the real estate sector in Turkey and the factors affecting it.

And according to AThe Turkish Statistical Institute updated data: Real estate sales in Turkey decreased by 17.5% during 2023 compared to the previous year, reaching 1,225,926 real estate units, achieving the lowest levels of sales in the last 9 years.

Perhaps the most prominent influencing factors are: It is the significant decline in real estate sales to foreign investors, as sales for this category reached about 35 thousand units in 2023, a decline of 48.1% from the previous year, recording the lowest level since 2018.

The share of sales to foreigners in the total real estate market in Turkey decreased to 2.9% in 2023, compared to 4.5% in 2022, which reflects a decline in Turkey’s share in the international real estate market to less than 1%.

The month of December 2023 witnessed a sharp decline in real estate sales to foreign investors, with a decline of 67.7% compared to the same month in 2022, which led to a reduction in the share of sales for housing directed to foreigners to only 1.5% of total sales, and this percentage is the lowest since July. 2020.

Foreign buyers

The Russians drew attention in the Turkish real estate market during the past year, as they topped the list of foreign buyers with a balance of 10,560 residential units, representing 30.1% of the total foreign real estate transactions in 2023, followed by Iranians with 12.2% in the buyers’ register.

The Arab countries showed a noticeable presence; Iraq ranked first by purchasing 1,917 housing units, then Kuwait with 822 units, and Saudi Arabia with 810 units.

Compared to the year 2022, Iraq topped the list with 6,241 units, then Kuwait 1,671, and Yemen 1,202.

On the geographical level within Turkey, the state of Antalya topped the list of Turkish states selling the most real estate to foreigners with 12,702, followed by Istanbul with sales amounting to 11,229 units, while Mersin recorded 3,016 properties.

Economic researcher, Muhammad Abu Alyan, told Al Jazeera Net that a wave of successive economic and political challenges sweeping Turkey has led to a significant decline in real estate sales to foreigners, and this decline is attributed to a continuous deterioration in macroeconomic indicators over the past few years, according to him.

For example, inflation witnessed a rise to unprecedented levels by the end of 2022, reaching about 85.5%, before declining to 64.7% by the end of 2023, thus recording one of the highest rates in the world, which prompted the new economic administration to pledge to combat it, as it raised The Central Bank increased interest rates from 8.5% to 42.5% in 7 consecutive sessions, according to Muhammad Abu Alyan.

The same spokesman explained that the campaigns led by opposition parties against foreign presence in major cities were a major reason for the government's push to increase the real estate investment limit required for foreigners, from $250,000 to $400,000.

For his part, real estate consultant Ahmed Muhanna told Al Jazeera Net that the rise in construction costs has led to exaggerated inflation of real estate prices in recent years, adding that the housing price index is still high, in addition to the tendency of foreigners to markets that are competitive and more attractive than the Turkish market.

Tourism challenges

Not far from real estate, the Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Ersoy, during recent statements he made, highlighted the most important challenges that affected the Turkish tourism sector, noting that the earthquake Kaherman MaraeshElections and racist political rhetoric had a negative impact on the 2023 season.

According to Muhammad Ersoy, Istanbul received about 16 million visitors in 2023, a number similar to the number of visitors to the city of Antalya.

Regarding the role of Arab tourists in promoting Turkish tourism, he pointed out that Arab tourists constituted more than 15% of the total number of tourists in Turkey in 2023, and showed great interest in visiting Istanbul and the Black Sea region, criticizing racist rhetoric against foreigners, and warning of the damage it may cause to tourism and its image. the Turkish people.

He expressed his optimism about the future of his country's tourism, noting that his goal this year is to achieve $60 billion from tourism, an increase of 10% compared to 2023.

According to the Turkish Statistics Authority, tourism revenues increased by 13.1% in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the same quarter of 2022, reaching one billion, 225 million and 317 thousand dollars.