Izmir Real Estate Market

Izmir, like Istanbul, is a port city. But if the shores of the former Constantinople are washed by the waters of the Marmara and Black Seas, then in the case of the western pearl of Turkey, we are already talking about the Aegean Sea. If you open the map, you can see that Izmir is located in the gulf of the same name, which “looks” at Greece and its capital, Athens. Thanks to its Mediterranean climate, it has warm and dry summers and rainy winters. Izmir combines the advantages of a resort with the comforts of living in a metropolis. Being one of the oldest in the Mediterranean, it is considered one of the most progressive in Turkey.

History

It was on the territory of modern Izmir that the city of Smyrna mentioned in the Bible was located; it is also most often called the homeland of Homer. Initially, it was part of the Roman Empire, and in the early Byzantine era it was a major Christian and economic center. Then the centuries-old Ottoman period began in its history, during which the Orthodox majority lived in it, and only in the 20th century did it become an almost completely Muslim center.

Izmir today

Today Izmir is the third most populated city (over 3 million people) in Turkey with the second largest port after Istanbul. It covers a vast bay on the eastern coast of the Aegean Sea with a huge horseshoe. The city is known for its universities and international schools: Izmir Institute of Technology, Ionian University, Aegean University, Dokuz Eilul University. Yashar University and others. There are colleges, international schools, including Italian and German. Also, a lot of Russian-speaking people live here, thanks to which there are kindergartens and schools where our compatriots will comfortably communicate and study in their native language.

Izmir is a large-scale center for the production of cars and buses. Agriculture, food, textile and construction materials industries are also developed here. There is a well-developed sea navigation and railway transport - the Alsancak station in Izmir was opened in 1858 as the terminus of the oldest railway line in Turkey. Izmir today is the largest business center in the country and the venue for the prestigious International Izmir Fair. The city's international airport accepts flights from all over the world (most often, a transfer is needed in Istanbul). It is almost completely rebuilt after the severe fire of 1922, lively and cosmopolitan, but at the same time it looks more like a Mediterranean European resort than an eastern metropolis.

Since Izmir is located by the sea, it is impossible not to touch upon the beach holiday. Of course, due to the fact that this is a large city, the purity of the water within its boundaries leaves much to be desired, so local residents prefer to swim and sunbathe on the beaches located 40-80 km from it. To the west of Izmir, just an hour away by toll road, is the Чешeme resort area with long sandy beaches and a very beautiful panorama around.

There are many small restaurants and cafes, there are water attractions and diving clubs, there is a rental of umbrellas and sun loungers. Near Cesme there is a small, only 1 km long, Ilica beach with fine white sand. Due to the gentle slope and thermal springs gushing right into the sea, the water here is very warm, which makes it an excellent place for families with children. The road from Izmir to the resort of Kusadasi is 100 km, and to Bodrum - 236 km.

Izmir Real Estate Market

The rapid economic growth and the demand for both residential and commercial properties in Izmir from foreign buyers have led to the fact that the city entered the world's ten leaders as the destination with the highest rates of growth in real estate prices. According to a study carried out in the fall of 2020 by Knight Frank, it was three Turkish cities - Izmir, Ankara and Istanbul - that topped the world ranking in terms of housing price growth, leaving behind 150 largest cities on the planet. Experts explain these results with the growth in demand and limited supply due to the weakening of the national currency. Also, Turkey is now especially attractive due to the fact that the country is actively fighting for the right to join the European Union, and against this background people from all over the world flock to its three key cities.

Izmir is most suitable for those who are looking for a place for year-round living with an extensive infrastructure, for which many megacities are famous, but at the same time do not want to live in a huge city, which is today's Istanbul (16 million inhabitants). And of course, if the main purpose of the purchase is to relax by the sea, then the city itself will not be very convenient for this, it is better to choose resort towns. But at the same time, good beach spots can be reached by car in an hour.

At the moment, the Turkish leadership is actively discussing the construction of a high-speed highway from Antalya to Izmir. Such activity associated with the development of logistics - both international, there and local - is associated with the growing interest in the acquisition of real estate in Izmir by foreigners. Back in June 2018, the housing market in this city rounded out the top three in Turkey with 6,888 sold residential properties and a market share of about 5.8%.

If we take a breakdown of sold real estate by regions of Turkey for almost all of 2020 (from January to November), then Istanbul is in first place in terms of sales of real estate in Turkey to foreigners (16 867 objects), followed by Antalya - 6946, Ankara - 2473, Yalova - 1190, Bursa - 1242, Mersin - 1154 and Izmir - 827. These figures indicate that so far foreigners have not yet begun to massively acquire real estate here, but everything is heading towards this, given that the last year Izmir is one of the world leaders in real estate value growth. From November 2019 to November 2020, local house prices rose 35%. The average purchase price per square meter here is 4166 Turkish lira (a little less than $ 500).

Areas of Izmir

Izmir province includes about 30 districts. As in many seaside cities, real estate in the central historical part and on the "first line" near the water has the highest prices, especially when it comes to villas, where the cost per square meter can reach 1000-2000 dollars. The central part of the city is Konak, this is the oldest part of it, therefore it is one of the most expensive. Karyaka, which is located on the other side of the Izmir Bay, is considered prestigious. It is bordered by the districts of Menemen to the north, Bornova to the east and ili to the west. It is these regions that are most often chosen by foreigners to buy real estate.

Also popular is the neighboring Bayrakl district, which includes a national park. There are many newly built or under construction properties for sale here. Also nearby is Bornova, the cultural cluster of Izmir. The most accessible residential area for real estate buyers is the Buca residential area.

Thank you for your help in preparing the material:

Sergey Volchenkov, Development Director of Tolerance