Foreign real estate sales in Turkey have fallen to a nine-year low.

Turkey's statistical office TurkStat has published the results of the first quarter of 2026: foreign buyers made 4,165 residential property transactions — 14.9% less than in the same period of 2025. In March alone, 1,353 transactions were recorded, which is 20% lower than the March level of the previous year. The share of foreigners in total sales amounted to 1.2% — compared to 4.5% at the peak in 2022.

The data confirms the continuation of a downward trend that began exactly when the authorities raised the investment threshold for obtaining citizenship through real estate from $250,000 to $400,000 at the end of 2022. At the time, this was perceived as a technical adjustment. Now it is clear that it was a structural break: according to AGBI, total foreign demand has since fallen more than fourfold in absolute terms.

The national breakdown for the first quarter looks like this: Russians remain the largest group of buyers — 229 transactions in March, followed by Iranians (130) and Germans (84). At the same time, according to AGBI, the number of transactions involving Russian buyers fell by about 10% year-on-year, and Iranian transactions by 15%. Experts attribute the decline from Russian and Iranian buyers in part to geopolitical instability in the region and the blow to Turkey's energy sector following the start of the operation in Iran.

Against the backdrop of falling foreign demand, the domestic market is holding up differently. Mortgage transactions in March rose by 35.9%, reaching 25,978 properties. For a market where loan rates in Turkish lira exceed 40% per annum, this is a surprisingly strong figure — which can only be explained by the fact that some buyers prefer expensive credit to further waiting, hoping for continued nominal price growth as a hedge against inflation.

Here there is a friction point that most reviews overlook: in Turkey, nominal house prices rose by 26.36% year-on-year in February 2026 — but real growth, taking into account inflation of 31.5%, was minus 3.93%. A buyer in dollars or euros gets an asset that nominally appreciates in lira terms, but may stagnate or decline in hard currency. This is the key contradiction that explains why heads of industry associations — in particular, the head of GIGDER, Bayram Tekçe — openly state that Turkey is losing investors to Dubai, Spain and Greece, where the payback period is objectively shorter.

Istanbul retains its leadership in the number of foreign transactions (37% of the national total), followed by Antalya. Alanya and Mersin round out the top five — these are cities where the entry price is lower and the tourist base supports demand for short-term rentals.

Real estate in Turkey — Istanbul, Antalya, Alanya: discount-house.com/turkey