Procedure of Real Estate Acquisition by Foreigners in Turkey

Abstract

Whether public, private, or something in between, property rights are a social, cultural, and economic base laying crucial groundwork for market economies. Within newly minted market economies, it becomes possible – even necessary – to recalibrate intuition towards land and other forms of property as commodities to be bought and sold in an international market (Tess, Commun Post-Commun Stud 37:213–239, 2004). Also, arising out of technological advances, coupled with the liberalization of capital markets worldwide that allow for efficient movement of capital between countries. Besides every nation, from past to present, has certain restrictions concerning the acquisition of land in the sense of absolute ownership by foreigners (Uzun and Yomralioglu, Foreigners in Turkey real estate acquisition: a review in the context of land management, chamber of surveying engineers of Turkey. In 11th scientific and technical conference of mapping, Ankara (in Turkish), 2007). However the removal of foreign ownership restrictions in many countries, a policy encouraged both by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Union, made it easier for people to invest in foreign real estate markets (HPI, Housing Price Indices, the World wide overview of real estate prices in recent years of research division of the National Association of Realtors, Washington. Available from: http://www.realtor.org/sites/default/files/reports/2009/world-wide-overview-real-estate-prices-recent-years-2009-08.pdf. Accessed 22 Feb 2015, 2009). Turkey as a developing country, a member of OECD and candidate of EU, has made a series of arrangement in terms of foreign investment on residential property. Turkey is an attractive country in the international land market because of both its geography (with large coastal area and the Mediterranean climate) and its rapidly developing economy. Particularly in recent years, individuals and companies have started to be interested in purchasing real estate in Turkey and this combined with Turkey being accepted as an EU candidate country attention is being paid to the process of real estate purchase by non-Turkish nationals and companies (Uzun and Yavuz, European Union integration process of the Foreign nationals acquisition of immovable property in Turkey. In: 9th Turkey scientific and technical conference of mapping, Ankara (in Turkish), 2003). Since 2002, there has been renewed concern in Turkey about purchases of properties by foreign citizens, reflected in numerous amendments and cancellation decisions about such purchases by the Supreme Court and a number of state agencies. Despite the frequent changes, foreign direct investment (FDI) rose from just over US$1 billion in the early 2000s to an average of US$13 billion in the 2008–2013 period in Turkey.