Iraqis have been among the top property buyers in Turkey over the past decade, according to real estate agents in Istanbul.

Over the past decade, more than 357,000 houses have been sold to foreigners in Turkey. Foreigners who receive a residence permit from Turkey for $75,000 dollars, and buy properties worth up to $400,000 dollars receive Turkish citizenship, according to the Istanbul Real Estate Chamber.

People from the Kurdistan Region and Iraq as a whole come in first place by purchasing 49,013 houses in Turkey in the past eight years, according to real estate agents and builders in Istanbul, according to the real estate chamber.

Architect Ahmed Etaiye, who is from the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, is among those who wants to buy a house in Istanbul in order to obtain Turkish citizenship.

“This country is very attractive and interesting for Arab citizens and foreigners,” Etaiye told Rudaw’s Omar Sonmaz on Wednesday while visiting the office of a construction company in Aksaray, Istanbul, to buy a house.

“There is stability in all areas of life,” Etaiye said of his motivations to buy a house in Istanbul. “It is also very good for the future and investment. That’s why I want to get a house. After all, our culture is close to each other.”

However, due to the earthquake and the election process in Turkey, the sale of houses both for the domestic market and for foreigners has dropped by up to 30 percent. But experts say, with the arrival of the summer, the market movement will resume.

In 2022, 67,490 houses were sold to foreigners in Turkey. In the period between 2015 and 2023, people from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region ranked first with the purchase of 49,013 houses

Mesud Tameroglu Mitehit has been running a construction company in Istanbul for 18 years. They sell the houses they build mostly to foreigners, especially to buyers from Arab countries. According to Tameroglu, it is still attractive and suitable for foreigners to buy real estate in Turkey despite the rise in their prices.

“Actually, now the price of houses has increased. This is related to inflation and the rise of the dollar,” Mitehit said. “However, Turkey continues to be attractive to foreigners. Therefore, Turkey is in both Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.”

Russian citizens are in second place with the purchase of 38, 187 houses, and Iranian citizens are in third place with the purchase of 38, 187 houses. In the sale of houses to foreigners, Istanbul ranks first in Turkey with 138,840 houses.

In Turkey, after 2012, some obstacles and restrictions for buying and selling real estate were removed for foreigners, allowing them to get residence permits after buying a house worth $75,000.

Source: Rudaw