Istanbul Ranks First Place among European Real Estate Investment Opportunities

In a recent survey released through PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI), Istanbul has earned first place as the preferred investment and development opportunity among European cities. This is the second year in a row that the city of Istanbul has ranked as the top preferred European city for real estate investment.

Of more than 600 topmost real estate investment professionals throughout Europe, the general consensus was very specific in their reasoning for choosing Istanbul as the city to invest their real estate dollars. This reasoning includes the surging population of young professionals, a growing economy, high levels of retail development, and escalating consumer spending.

Istanbul is not the only real estate investment winner in this survey. Munich is considered a viable opportunity because of, among other factors, record unemployment levels. Warsaw, Berlin, and Stockholm also made the cut. While some cities moved up and down the list, Moscow managed to make it into the top ten this year, showing up in the rankings for the first time. Probably, this is evidence for the future that the prices of real estate in Istanbul will increase.

While the outlook is expected to be successful for the above cities, the report is not all positive. Among polled investors, there is a viable concern that, as banks succumb to macroeconomic pressures and evolving regulations, real estate in general as well as other sectors will experience detrimental effects. Traditional loans will not be as easily obtained as in the past. In addition, debt will cost more and terms will be shorter than investors enjoyed during the days of a strong global economy.

Debt is expected to be the main issue of 2012 and will be on the forefront of lenders' minds, which will no doubt negatively affect many investors and would-be real estate investors throughout Europe. This will likely affect those who plan to invest in property in Turkey and elsewhere in Europe and the world. Obviously, equity investors who are not as dependant on traditional types of loans, or sensitive to immediate economic pressures will likely find themselves ahead of the game.

For those who have the means, Istanbul and other pockets of Turkey should be at the top of the list when it comes to searching for real estate investment and development opportunities. There is a strong and continuously growing real estate market in Turkey. In fact, in the recent Turkey Real Estate investment Outlook 2012 report from Castle Research, it was revealed that units in Turkey that were purchased for $1,500 USD per sqm in 2000 are now selling for approximately $10,000 USD per month. There is no sign that this upwards slope will discontinue any time soon. In many instances, investors are seeing a 10% increase in rental rates and development projects are breaking ground at lightning speed. For more information about residential real estate prices in Turkey, please turn to a past article, Residential Real Estate Prices in Turkey Continue to rising.

Merve Tuncer

AUTHORMerve TuncerAssistant Brand Manager

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