Turkish Government to Probe into Rent Price Increase

By Justin Mays: 

Residents in Turkey are finding it hard to find affordable rental properties due to the rising prices that are affecting the market in different cities of the country. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan assured the residents that his government will look into this issue. Official data showed that the Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) had an annual increase of 110% in the month of March. 

Authorities from the Treasury and Finance Ministry and the Environment, Urbanism and Climate Change Ministry, and Justice Ministry have scheduled a meeting to address the rent increment of residential property in Turkey according to one of Turkish newspaper, the  Daily Sabah.

This increase was fueled by rising inflation in the country which also led to the rising commodity and energy prices. Istanbul’s index climbed by 122% over the year and given data indicates that the city has a 9.8% rise month over month.  The yardstick was up 111.7% and 105.9% on annual basis in the capital Ankara and the Aegean province of Izmir. On monthly basis, it increased by 9.6% and 10.6% in the two cities, respectively.

The rents which began to rise in December 2021 after a sharp drop in the Turkish Lira - rose to 19.7% year-over-year in March 2022 according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

Regardless of the ascending prices, house sales have risen by 38.8% in April to 133.058 units from 95.863 in 2022. This trailed March’s figure with sales of 134,170, a 20.6% year-over-year increase.