Developers gearing up for new housing projects amid strong demand

ISTANBUL

Encouraged by strong sales figures and a decline in home prices in real terms, construction companies are preparing to launch new housing projects.

Potential homebuyers had been in a wait-and-see mode until the second half of last year but unleashed the pent-up demand, which helped the housing market bounce back.

Last year, nearly 1.5 million homes changed hands in Türkiye, marking a 21 percent increase compared to 2023.

Since July, the housing market has seen double-digit growth rates in home sales. For example, the housing market expanded by 53 percent in December, 64 percent in November and 76 percent in October annually. In January this year, home sales surged almost 40 percent year-on-year to 112,173 units.

A recent survey jointly conducted by the Housing Developers and Investors Association (KONUTDER) and Nielsen IQ Türkiye confirmed consumers’ growing appetite for homes.

The report also found that developers are planning to launch new housing projects in the coming months.

Some 81 percent of KONUTDER member companies said they have new projects to launch within the next six months. More than 71 percent of them think new home sales will increase in the next six months.

Over 90 percent of participants of the survey expected interest rates on housing loans to decline after the Central Bank started the easing cycle in December. However, despite the anticipated decline in interest rates, construction companies do not expect a significant increase in the number of people taking out housing loans.

Last year, mortgaged home sales declined by 10.8 percent to 158,486 units, accounting for 10.7 percent of all sales in the housing market. In January this year, however, mortgaged home sales soared 183 percent annually to 16,726 which made up nearly 15 percent of all home sales.

The survey found that a little over 76 percent of companies expect home prices to start to increase in the first half of 2025, while only 23.8 percent think prices will be unchanged.