Foreign Buyers Keep Retreating From Türkiye Housing

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Foreign nationals bought 1,938 homes in Türkiye in August 2026, almost unchanged from a year earlier. January–August purchases fell 6.3% to 13,141 units, while foreign buyers accounted for only 1.5% of the August market. The figures do not prove that investors have stopped buying homes for citizenship: official sales statistics do not record the purpose of a transaction. They do show that the property-based citizenship programme is no longer supporting foreign demand at anything close to the levels seen earlier in the decade.

August was stronger than the wider market

The Turkish Statistical Institute recorded 127,410 home sales nationwide in August, down 14.7% from a year earlier. Foreign buyers purchased 1,938 homes, an increase of just 0.1%. January–August foreign transactions fell 6.3% to 13,141.

The wider market weakened much more sharply during the month. First-hand sales fell 4.5% to 44,378 homes and second-hand transactions dropped 19.4% to 83,032. Total January–August sales declined 6.8% to 950,529.

August therefore does not show a new collapse in foreign demand. Overseas purchases were almost flat while the national market contracted sharply. The structural decline appears over a longer time horizon.

The historical peak is higher after revision

Long-term comparisons need to use Türkiye’s updated housing-sales series. The historical dataset was revised in 2026, meaning older releases still contain different totals.

The revised series records 72,342 homes sold to foreigners in 2022 and 22,980 in 2025, a decline of about 68% in three years. The pre-revision figures were 67,490 and 21,534 respectively.

This article uses the revised series. The methodological change does not alter the direction of the market; it makes the scale of the earlier foreign-buying boom slightly larger.

Citizenship remains available from $400,000

Türkiye has not removed its real-estate citizenship route. The official investment portal sets a minimum property value of $400,000. The qualifying property must carry a title-deed restriction preventing resale for at least three years. The purchase creates eligibility to apply for exceptional citizenship; it does not result in an automatic passport.

The threshold has changed over time. It stood at $250,000 from 2018 and was raised to $400,000 in 2022. That increase coincided with the beginning of a multi-year decline in foreign purchases, although official data cannot isolate the effect of citizenship rules from exchange rates, property prices, yields, residence rules and conditions in individual cities.

Property-based residence is a separate route. A recent comparison of property-residence programmes noted that qualifying residential property worth at least $200,000 can support a short-term residence permit. That route should not be confused with citizenship by investment.

Official data do not show what foreigners buy

The obvious question is what foreigners buy now that a passport alone is not enough to justify every deal. Official statistics can answer only part of it.

The official dataset provides transaction counts, location and buyer nationality. It does not break foreign purchases down by budget, housing class, size, investment return or motive. A citizenship purchase cannot be reliably separated from a home bought for relocation, rental income, seasonal use or capital preservation.

Geography is still highly concentrated. Istanbul recorded 763 foreign home sales in August, Antalya 599 and Mersin 143. Together, the three provinces accounted for almost 78% of foreign transactions. The pattern points to large international and resort markets rather than evenly distributed demand across the country.

Antalya remains the second-largest Turkish market for foreign home purchases after Istanbul. Photo: Sharon Hahn Darlin, CC BY 2.0.

Russians remain the largest buyer group

Russian citizens continue to rank first among overseas buyers. They acquired 343 homes in August, followed by Ukrainian citizens with 147 and Iranians with 140.

That ranking should not be confused with a return to peak demand. Foreign buyers represented only 1.5% of all August housing transactions.

Russian demand remains especially visible in Antalya. Of the province’s 599 foreign purchases, 226 were made by Russian citizens. That makes Russians an important group for the resort market without making overseas demand a dominant force in Türkiye’s national housing cycle.

Mortgages rise as total sales fall

The most striking change in the August data was in financing rather than foreign demand.

Mortgaged home sales rose 7.2% year on year to 22,131 even as total transactions fell 14.7%. January–August mortgaged sales increased 27.6% to 188,813. Non-mortgage sales fell 12.7% over the same period to 761,716.

The domestic market is therefore becoming more sensitive to access to credit. A foreign buyer typically faces a different calculation: hard-currency entry price, rental potential, liquidity and any immigration benefit.

That distinction matters. Foreign sales were almost flat in August even as the overall market contracted.

Prices rise in lira and fall in real terms

The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye shows another split that matters for international investors. The national Residential Property Price Index reached 236.76 in August, rising 0.94% from the previous month and 23.03% from a year earlier in nominal terms.

After inflation, house prices fell by about 6.5% in real terms. Nominal annual growth was approximately 26.3% in Istanbul, 24.8% in Ankara and 23.3% in Izmir.

Even that is not the final measure for an overseas investor. Returns also depend on the lira’s exchange rate against the investor’s base currency. A home can become substantially more expensive in lira while producing a much weaker result in dollars or euros.

Citizenship no longer explains the market

The main analytical mistake is to treat declining foreign transactions as direct proof that buyers have abandoned citizenship-linked purchases.

The programme remains open, the $400,000 threshold is still in force and foreigners continue to acquire property. Migration demand has not disappeared either.

What has changed is that citizenship no longer guarantees broad demand for any property simply because it clears the minimum threshold. Buyers accept a three-year resale restriction while taking currency, market and project risk.

The investment case increasingly depends on what happens after citizenship is obtained: who will rent the home, at what price, how liquid the resale market is, whether the building is sound and whether domestic buyers would also want the asset.

As International Investment experts report, official data cannot prove that foreigners have stopped buying homes specifically for citizenship. The revised historical series does show that foreign sales fell by about 68% between the 2022 peak and 2025 even as the programme remained in place. Citizenship therefore no longer compensates for weak property economics on its own. Investors need to focus on district liquidity, hard-currency pricing, building quality, rental demand and the ability to exit after the mandatory three-year holding period. The strongest properties are those that still make financial sense without the migration benefit.

FAQ: Foreign Buyers and Türkiye Property

How many homes did foreigners buy in Türkiye in August 2026?
Foreign buyers purchased 1,938 homes, up 0.1% year on year and equal to 1.5% of all residential transactions.

How many homes did foreigners buy in January–August 2026?
Foreign buyers completed 13,141 purchases, down 6.3% from the same period in 2025.

Why do older 2022 and 2025 figures differ?
Türkiye revised its historical housing-sales series in 2026. The current totals for foreign purchases are 72,342 in 2022 and 22,980 in 2025. Older releases show 67,490 and 21,534.

Which nationality buys the most Turkish property?
Russian citizens ranked first in August with 343 purchases, followed by Ukrainians with 147 and Iranians with 140.

Where do foreign buyers purchase property?
Istanbul led with 763 foreign sales in August, followed by Antalya with 599 and Mersin with 143. The three provinces accounted for almost 78% of overseas purchases.

How much property is required for Turkish citizenship?
The current minimum is $400,000. The qualifying property must carry a restriction preventing resale for at least three years.

Does buying a $400,000 property automatically provide citizenship?
No. The purchase provides a route to apply for exceptional citizenship subject to the programme’s legal and administrative requirements.

Have foreigners stopped buying homes for citizenship?
Official statistics cannot answer that directly because they do not record purchase motives. They show that overall foreign demand is far below its peak even though the citizenship programme remains open.

Are Turkish house prices rising in 2026?
The national index rose 23.03% year on year in lira terms in August, but fell by about 6.5% after inflation. Foreign investors also need to account for exchange-rate movements.

Why are mortgage sales rising while the market falls?
Mortgage-financed transactions increased 7.2% in August and 27.6% in January–August, while non-mortgage sales declined. That points to a change in the financing structure of domestic demand.