Luxury real estate in Turkey is attracting Arab investors
Buying real estate in Turkey has attracted a lot of attention lately Thanks to the luxurious accommodation especially. Turkey is a preferred place by the citizens of every country because of its geographical location. Of course, this is not the only reason. Where Turkey offers many advantages.
Do you want to buy or sell a property in Turkey? Or is your goal only investing? Recently, many people are interested in buying real estate in Turkey. Frankly, luxury residences in Istanbul are among the most preferred. Many nationalities want to buy these properties, but the Arabs, of course, have a large share in them.
why?
Istanbul is the first choice
Istanbul is the first choice for anyone who wants to buy a luxury home in Turkey. Most of the luxury residences are located in Istanbul. Where you can have a villa or a relatively large residence. Arab investors usually buy and live in luxury residences in Istanbul. Where the palaces and villas on the Bosphorus are among the favorite places.
Istanbul captures the bulk of Arab property buyers in Turkey with Istanbul's chic neighborhoods like Vanikoy, Kandilli, Bebek, Kanlica, Beylerbeyi, and Yenikoy being the most popular destinations. Arabs also own a lot of luxury villas around Sapanca Lake and Kartepe. Bursa is also very popular, due to its history and beautiful natural surroundings. The entire Trabzon province works well as a destination for foreign investors due to its vast Black Sea coast.
Wealthy Arabs are buying real estate in Turkey
Wealthy Arabs have a reputation for owning some of the most expensive real estates in Europe, whether in Paris, London or Madrid. What is interesting is that with the rise of Turkey as a regional power, an increasing number of Arabs are buying real estate for sale in Turkey.
Turkey is very keen on getting more foreign investment in its real estate market and building itself as an attractive destination for both foreign tourists as well as investors. Turkey is already one of the most visited countries in the world, attracting 34 million tourists in 2019. Indeed, to encourage Arabs to invest in Turkish real estate, many Turkish developers have opened offices in the Middle East and stepped up their marketing efforts in a big way.
Arabs have always loved to visit Turkey as tourists with their families, and today they are among the biggest buyers of Turkish real estate, along with Germans, British, and Russians. The most famous Turkish real estate is the sea view real estate in Alanya, Fethiye, Kemer, and Bodrum.
Strong economy and intimacy
Turkey has a fast-growing economy and a strong democracy. Arabs have always been interested in Turkey because of the similarity in culture and a common religion - Islam. Turkish TV shows are very popular in the Middle East, even more, popular than American and British TV shows. Turkey is considered a "wonderful" country in the Middle East, yet it is familiar due to its status as a Muslim-majority country.
Where do Arab buyers come from?
Saudi Arabia has the largest number of people buying real estate in Turkey, followed by Kuwait, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan.
The Turkish government is very keen on attracting loyal foreigners to its shores. Buying real estate in Turkey was practically impossible for foreigners in the past. But that has changed with new regulations such as a bill introduced in 2012 in the Turkish Parliament to remove the requirement of reciprocity when it comes to enforcing property rights for foreigners hoping to invest in Turkish real estate.
The government also removed restrictions on the sale of real estate to foreign individuals and multinational corporations. Another positive step was to extend the period of tourist visas and reduce red tape regarding granting residence permits to stay in Turkey.
potential problem
However, when it comes to Arabs buying real estate in Turkey, there are still some serious unresolved issues.
Turkey, for example, does not allow polygamy and is a secular country, despite being a Muslim-majority country. So, many in Turkey cannot bring Arabs to more than one wife to their country. The Turkish government has not yet resolved the issue of granting residence permits to the second, third, and fourth wives of Arab citizens who buy real estate in Turkey. This led to a backlash from the Turkish public.
In fact, according to a survey conducted by a Turkish agency, 61% of those surveyed opposed granting residence permits to foreigners, while only 27% supported it. Some progressive politicians have done their best to convince the public of how “foreigners contribute to the Turkish economy by bringing business opportunities with them,” but this work is still a work in progress. Certainly, this did not stop wealthy Arabs from buying real estate in Turkey.