Housing Sector News: Recovery in First-Hand Home Sales Continues
Foreks - The President of Konutder, Ramadan Kumova, stated regarding the October 2024 Housing Sales Statistics announced by TÜİK today, "The recovery in first-hand housing sales continues." Kumova's statement is as follows:
"Housing sales across Turkey increased by 76.1% in October compared to the same month last year, reaching 165,138. The activity in recent months continues to accelerate. In September, a record increase of 140,000 was achieved, and with the increase to 165,000 in October, this record has been significantly surpassed. Behind this significant demand surge is the real decline in housing prices since the beginning of 2024. People are aware of the opportunities in housing and have started to direct their savings towards it. They are purchasing by taking advantage of the campaigns and installment options offered by housing producers. Additionally, despite high interest rates, housing investors consider housing prices to be low, which encourages them to use loans. We clearly see this in the figures announced today. In October, mortgage-backed housing sales across Turkey increased by 278.2% compared to the same month last year, reaching 21,095. This increase primarily stems from housing being in a much more favorable price climate compared to other investment instruments.
While mortgage-backed housing sales are rising, the share of these sales in total sales remains low at around 12%. In a healthy market environment, it is ideal for mortgage sales to be above 50%. Currently, producers are implementing installment plans through campaigns. This creates a significant financial burden on the producers. Although the qualitative increase in numbers is positive, a sustainable foundation can only be established by returning to healthy market conditions in quantitative terms. Nevertheless, the improvement in numbers is the first signal that something is changing. We view the improvement in figures as a promising step towards a healthier market.
On the other hand, the stock of second-hand products has decreased over the last three years; however, this gap can be balanced with first-hand sales. The long-declining rate of first-hand sales has entered a recovery process and has reached 35%. This rate needs to increase further to meet the housing demand. Reductions in housing loans will be the most important tool for establishing a healthy market foundation. If the trend continues, housing sales may reach 1.4 million by the end of 2024."