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Home sales across Türkiye fell mildly in October, edging down 0.5% from the same month last year to 164,306 units, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) reported on Thursday.
Despite the monthly slowdown, total sales in the January–October period reached an all-time high of 1.29 million units, reflecting a 16.2% annual increase.
In October, purchases by non-residents fell 0.8% from a year earlier to 2,106 units, representing 1.3% of all transactions. Over the first 10 months of the year, foreign sales dropped 11.3% to 17,050 units.
Antalya led foreign-buyer transactions with 729 units, followed by Istanbul with 725 and Mersin with 192, while Russian nationals purchased 315 homes, ahead of German buyers with 191 and Iranian buyers with 172.
Mortgage-backed home sales increased by 11.5% year-over-year in October, reaching 23,527 units, and accounted for 14.3% of all transactions during the month. In the January–October period, mortgage sales rose 64% from a year earlier to 186,020 units.
First-time, or newly built, home sales totaled 54,866 units in October, down 4.9% from a year earlier, making up 33.4% of all home transactions nationwide. However, in the first ten months of the year, new-home sales increased 10.9% compared with the same period last year, reaching 397,507 units.
Commenting on the figures to state-run Anadolu Agency, Ziya Yilmaz, chair of the Association of Housing Developers and Investors (KONUTDER), noted the decline in first-time, or newly built, home sales, while stressing that the rise in mortgage-backed transactions has continued. Yilmaz said the year’s overall data pointed to "a generally optimistic outlook for the sector," but emphasized that a faster improvement was needed in the production and sale of new homes, which he described as essential for economic activity and employment.
He also underlined that the share of new and mortgage-backed sales within total transactions should increase. “The recent improvement in credit conditions is already being reflected in sales,” he said. Yilmaz added that a lasting recovery in housing supply would require easing financing constraints and combining publicly planned land production with the private sector’s capabilities.
Mustafa Kemal Sahin, chair of the Association of Real Estate Marketing and Sales Professionals (GAPAS), said completed projects entering the delivery phase had also boosted sales statistics. "As cost pressures continue in newly produced housing, demand has shifted toward second-hand properties and projects approaching delivery," he said. "This creates a noticeable increase in sales, but the rise is not sustainable unless the production side is supported."
Sahin noted that the data showed demand remained strong but was being met largely from existing stock. He emphasized the need for a housing policy that encourages new production, improves access to financing, and addresses supply and demand together. "To ensure lasting market vitality, we need policies that support new production and make financing more accessible," he stated.
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