Housing Sales on the Rise: Sector Looks to Year-End with Optimism

ISTANBUL – Housing sales across Turkey showed a significant increase in June. According to housing sales statistics released by TÜİK for June 2025, total sales rose by 35.8% compared to the same month last year, reaching 107,723 units. First-hand home sales also saw a 32% increase, totaling 33,569 units, making up 31.2% of all sales.

Remzi Dursunkaya, Chairman of the Board of Karem Yapı, evaluated the data and said the interest in the housing market is expected to continue through the end of the year. He noted that the Central Bank’s 300 basis point reduction in the policy rate is one of the key drivers behind this momentum.

Decline in First-Hand and Mortgage Sales

Dursunkaya pointed out that despite the overall increase, the share of first-hand and mortgage-based sales has been declining over the past decade. “The share of first-hand housing sales has dropped from 45% to around 30% over the last 10 years,” he said. “Similarly, mortgage sales, which used to average 32%, have nearly halved to around 15%.”

He added that the first half of 2025 saw 691,893 total home sales—the highest figure in the last five years. “In 2024, total sales reached 1.48 million units. With inflation decreasing and interest rates falling, we expect this figure to exceed 1.5 million by the end of 2025,” he said.

“Lower Land Costs Needed to Reduce Housing Prices”

While acknowledging the rise in sales, Dursunkaya emphasized the need to lower land costs to support new housing production. He noted that Turkey has some of the highest land costs globally, with land accounting for up to 50% of total construction costs—compared to around 20% in even the most valuable locations in Europe and the U.S.

“To produce affordable housing, land costs must come down,” said Dursunkaya. “Especially in major cities, high land costs are among the biggest obstacles to both new housing production and urban transformation.”

Dursunkaya concluded by saying that growing interest in the housing market is giving hope to the construction sector. “Companies that are prepared for the upcoming period will be able to turn this renewed demand into an opportunity,” he added.