What is Gross and Net Square Meters and Why Does it Matter?

Experts say real estate is one of the best investments you can make and with the overseas property market growing in popularity every year, owning a house or apartment in Turkey is enticing many foreign investors with the promise of low prices and lucrative long-term returns.

However, as with any real estate purchase anywhere in the world, it is worth examining everything in detail before you hand over the cash. As well as including legalities such as habitation certificate, title deeds and the condition of the property, one aspect that will help you, is to examine the gross and net square meterage of any potential home.

What is The Difference Between Gross and Net Square Footage?

Gross square footage is the amount of space within a dwelling from the boundaries walls inwards. External, gross square footage includes outside areas such as landscaped gardens or parking lots, or community facilities if the project is an apartment complex. Internal gross square footage refers to areas such as elevators, or public staircases.

Gross includes supporting columns and the unusable regions because it is the total size of the construction site.

Net square meterage is the amount of space within a home that can be physically used. This can further be defined by external net square meterage such as balconies and terraces or interior net square meters which refers to the usable space of inside rooms.

Unfortunately, in Turkey, there is no set standard on how to advertise properties and potential buyers will see a drastic difference when it comes to property sizes because some agents use net and others use gross.

Before buying a real estate, everything needs to be examined in detail.

Why Does it Matter?

If you are comparing properties on the internet or in brochures and one is advertised in gross and one in net, the larger may seem like a bargain, when in fact it is overpriced according to the current market value.

Also, if the property is advertised in gross, but only three-fourths of that space is usable net meterage, that home that appears spacious on paper is, in fact, a lot smaller than you thought it was.

Fortunately, these days, most hardware shops sell laser measurement tools that will do all the hard work for you and can instantly calculate net meterage, which is the most crucial aspect. The land registrar office can confirm the total gross square meterage of a private villa or apartment complex.

If the villa or apartment is off-plan or still in the stages of construction, ask for floor plans and for the stated amount of gross and net space to be included in the contract which should then be notarized.

If you have any questions about this topic, speak to one of our experienced sales representatives by contacting us on +90 242 324 54 94. They will be happy to answer all your questions.

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Merve Tuncer

AUTHORMerve TuncerAssistant Brand Manager

Created: 27.01.2018, 00.00Updated: 21.10.2021, 08.55

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