Istanbul property prices could rise by up to 200% | Chappaqua NY Real Estate

Residential property prices could appreciate by up to 200%, following the introduction of fresh legislation which allows more foreigners to purchase property in Turkey, according to a leading property expert.

TAB Real Estate Investment Chairman Ahmet Temeltaş believes that prices in the city, where there is already a major housing shortage, will boom as a consequence of an anticipated rise in demand from overseas buyers.

The new law amends title deed laws and changes the previous reciprocity requirement, which dictated that people living in the 89 countries that did not have the right to own property in Turkey because Turkish nationals are not permitted to purchase homes in those countries. But now the citizens of 183 nations can own property in Turkey.

“The price of a square meter of real estate is likely to increase to as much as $6,000-$7,000 from the current $2,000 levels in a short period of time,” Temeltaş said in a statement.

He named Ataşehir, Maslak, Çekmeköy, Sancaktepe, Kartal, Pendik and Halkalı as some of the best Istanbul neighborhoods in which to invest.

According to the Central Bank of Turkey, the average price of a home in Turkey increased by an average of 9% in July compared to the same month last year, thanks partly to a rise in property sales, with 96,000 homes sold in the first quarter of 2012, up 5.5% year-on-year