By Tuba Sahin
ANKARA (AA) – Residential property sales in Turkiye surged 20% year-on-year in February, according to latest data released on Tuesday.
A total of 97,587 houses changed hands last month, up from 81,222 in February 2021, a Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) report showed.
Mortgaged house sales stood at 19,888 in February, a 35.6% annual rise, and accounted for 20.4% share of all sales.
Sales to foreign buyers soared by 55% to 4,591 units in February.
Istanbul, Turkiye’s largest city in terms of population, enjoyed the lion’s share of sales to foreign buyers – 1,958 units.
The Mediterranean resort city of Antalya followed with 1,099 properties, while the capital Ankara came third with 288.
Among foreign nationals, Iranians bought the most houses, 711, followed by Iraqis with 633 purchases and Russians at 509.
In January and February, 185,893 residential properties were sold in Turkiye, marking a rise of 22.5% compared to the same period of last year.
Sales to foreigners in the first two months of the year jumped 55.5% on an annual basis to 8,843, according to TurkStat data.