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Türkiye has unveiled an ambitious ₺1.5 trillion ($35.76 billion) plan to build 500,000 social housing units across all 81 provinces under a program titled "The Century Housing Project," aiming to cool the real estate boom that has driven up both house and rent prices by expanding affordable supply.
According to the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry, the government will leverage its extensive construction experience to launch a nationwide housing mobilization through the Housing Development Administration (TOKI).
The agency, which has already delivered 1.74 million social homes, plans to add another half million under the new program, scheduled for completion between late 2027 and mid-2028.
The project prioritizes specific social groups, reserving quotas for relatives of fallen soldiers, veterans, retirees, youth, and families with at least three children.
Of the 500,000 planned homes, 100,000 will be built in Istanbul, mostly as one- or two-bedroom apartments. One-bedroom units will start at ₺1.8 million ($42,920), well below the city’s average price of ₺4.2 million ($100,148), according to Turkish real estate tracker Endeksa.
Buyers will make a 10% down payment and repay the remainder over 240 months, with monthly installments starting from ₺6,750 ($160.95).
In Istanbul, where rental costs have risen ninefold since 2021, according to Endeksa, the government will also introduce a rental social housing scheme for the first time.
The units will be leased below market rates to eligible low- and middle-income citizens in an effort to ease market pressures that pushed rent inflation above 100% in recent years and left it still high at 69.1% as of September.
The initiative will extend affordable housing to lower-income groups while supporting over 260 industries, including steel, cement, glass, ceramics, home appliances, and furniture manufacturing.
Mustafa Levent Sungur, head of the Housing Development Administration (TOKI) under the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry, said the project is not limited to housing construction but also encompasses the full range of social and physical infrastructure.
"These developments will include all essential facilities—from schools and hospitals to parks, gardens, and even large public green spaces known as 'nation's gardens,'" he said.
The new residential areas will feature shared spaces such as mosques, schools, sports halls, daycare centers, and community houses designed to strengthen neighborhood ties.
The project is also expected to increase home ownership, ease rent pressures, reinforce domestic production networks, and foster a more resilient, environmentally conscious urban structure across Türkiye, according to industry representatives.
Nesecan Cekici, president of the Real Estate Investors Association (GYODER), told Türkiye daily that around one-fifth of the new homes will be allocated to Istanbul and young people, aligning with Türkiye’s demographic needs.
She added that land prices account for about half of total project costs in Türkiye, compared with roughly 20% in Europe.
"If state-owned lands are temporarily allocated to developers under a public-private partnership model, tens of thousands of additional units could be built," she said.
Developers are also designing financing models that would allow tenants to transition into homeownership over time, with the private sector expected to begin similar projects by 2026, she added.
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