Sales of the Turkish residential real estate sector in Turkey, to foreigners, during the first four months of 2019, increased by 82 percent, compared to sales of 2018.
According to data obtained by the Anatolia correspondent from the Turkish Statistical Institute, the number of apartments sold to foreigners during this period reached 13,338, while last year it was 7,341 .
The same data stated that sales to foreigners during last April amounted to 3,720 apartments .
Istanbul came at the top of the Turkish states selling homes to foreigners, during the same month, with 1,839 apartments, followed by Antalya in second place with 676 apartments .
Ankara came third with 210, Bursa fourth with 201, Yalova with 142, and Trabzon with 100 houses .
Iraqis topped the list of foreigners who bought homes from Turkey last April, as the number of homes sold to them reached 533, then the Saudis with 395 apartments, the Iranians third with 332, and the Kuwaitis fourth with 202 .
Turkey offered a package of incentives to foreign investors in Turkey, especially real estate owners, and granted them Turkish citizenship in return for buying a property, with a value starting from 250 thousand dollars .
According to the new law, a foreigner can obtain Turkish citizenship if he buys in cash, real estate within unfinished housing projects, with a value of no less than 250 thousand dollars, or the equivalent in Turkish or hard currency .