Is real estate investment in Istanbul profitable? Turkish Citizenship by Investment

We heard from some real estate owners in the recent period that real estate investment in Istanbul is a losing investment, and if it's not been for the goal to obtain Turkish citizenship, they would not have bought real estate in Istanbul. Is this true? Is it necessary to obtain Turkish citizenship to sacrifice $ 250.000 to buy unprofitable real estate?

It is no longer a secret to anyone that the real estate market in Istanbul is witnessing continuous prosperity and escalating growth that does not stop or decline. Let us leave the theoretical talk and see the statistics issued by the official Turkish Statistical Centre:

 

 

The graphic shows the number of properties sold in Turkey in general from March 2019 to March 2021 and through March 2020 when Corona epidemic began to spread in the world in general and in Turkey in particular, where we witnessed the first closure that lasted until the end of May 2020 and perhaps the data above shows that the decrease in the number of properties sold in Turkey was only in April and May of 2020, to recover significantly in June 2020 and set a new record when compared with last year.

 

We also note from the graph that the number of properties sold in March 2021, which is 111.241 properties, is higher than the number of properties sold in the same month of 2019 and it was 105.046. This means that properties sold after Corona are higher than before Corona in the same month two years ago, with an increase rate of 5.9%.

Turkish citizenship by investment

Our goal in presenting these statistics is to clarify that the number of properties sold in Turkey, of which Turkish citizens constitute 97%, while the share of foreigners is only 3%, as shown in the figure below for the number of properties sold to foreigners in Turkey (compared during March 2021).

 

 

From this we conclude that the vast majority of real estate was sold in the local market, and this clearly means that the Turkish real estate market is a profitable investment market, otherwise there would not have been an increased demand for new real estate purchases, especially under construction by Turkish citizens (who do not seek citizenship but a net investment 100%).

 

As for the question: Should we sacrifice $ 250.000 in order to obtain Turkish citizenship?

Also, the answer has become clear as long as local citizens represent the vast majority of buyers of new real estate in Turkey. This means, on one hand, that this market is an investment, and therefore the idea of losing $ 250.000 in order to obtain real estate is a wrong idea and we will discuss its reasons shortly, and on the other hand, building a market for foreigners in order to mislead them as long as they constitute at best only 3% of the Turkish real estate market will not happen.

 

After we have provided the proven answer with evidence of the feasibility of real estate investment in Istanbul, we now move to more detail to mention the profit rates for real estate investors in Istanbul through Right Home Company, but before that it is necessary to explain the reason for the claims made by some recent real estate owners regarding the failure of real estate investment in Istanbul.

 

What is the reason for the failure of real estate investment in Istanbul for some clients?

We mentioned at the beginning of the article that the real estate market in Turkey in general and in Istanbul in particular is witnessing a great prosperity, and this prosperity is accompanied by the entry of hundreds of inexperienced real estate consultants who rely on playing with the feelings of the client and misleading him by offering non-investment offers as the best investment in Istanbul (such as buying 6 Apartments at the price of Turkish citizenship, or buying a large commercial store in a remote area, buying an old independent house, or buying agricultural or residential land, so that its price will multiply hundreds of times when the new Istanbul Canal is established).

 

All these manipulations involved not a small number of clients, and this is not surprising, because the clients want to obtain Turkish citizenship and do not have a deep knowledge of the foundations of real estate investment in Istanbul, and unfortunately, they did not have the opportunity to speak with a capable real estate consultant with long experience in this market.

 

Real estate investment in Istanbul does not depend on the number of properties that you will get within a budget of $ 250.000, not even on the large number of meters in your commercial store in a remote area, which you will not be able to rent with a high return, nor even sell it later, also does not depend on the number of rooms you have acquired when you buy an old property in an area far from the places of high demand for renting at high prices or selling later (not to mention the fact that the old properties have a real estate appraisal less than their real price and therefore real estate worth 250-300 thousand dollars is often not enough to provide an appropriate assessment of Turkish citizenship and therefore the investor has to purchase additional real estate to complete the real estate appraisal amount).

 

Finally, as for the lands near the new Istanbul Canal, it is a very risky investment project that is not recommended for someone who owns a property for the first time in Turkey and wants to obtain Turkish citizenship. For more information about Istanbul Canal, read: Canal Istanbul project and its impact on real estate investment

 

So, what is the solution to get a successful real estate investment while obtaining Turkish citizenship?

The amount of real estate investment to obtain Turkish citizenship was reduced to $ 250.000, according to what was issued in the Official Gazette on September 19, 2018, after it was previously worth one million dollars.

 

Many clients have their first goal in obtaining Turkish citizenship, and for the amount of $ 250.000, they do not give much importance to the real estate that will be purchased in it, and this is in fact a big mistake because Turkish citizenship is free and this amount is a condition for obtaining it, but through which a very profitable investment can be made, many clients of Right Home, after they were consulted for real estate suitable for Turkish citizenship and investment at the same time, they later consolidated their investments in Istanbul even after obtaining Turkish citizenship because the real estate market in Istanbul is a profitable market for investors in any case, provided that investment projects and the right options are chosen within these projects.

 

What are the profit rates for real estate investors in Istanbul through Right Home?

When our real estate consultant over the phone explains the areas of Istanbul, how to invest, the best projects in each area, and the best options in each project, the customer becomes aware of the investment mechanism and how to profit in the Turkish real estate market, and when the customer meets when he comes to Istanbul immediately with the sales representative of Right Home, he will immediately feel that every second of his time is being used correctly and only projects that are suitable for his request and that achieve high returns on investment are offered to him.

 

The result is that one of Right Home’s clients received an investment with a profit rate of 110% in just two years, and this in investment science is symbolized by ROI = 55%, which is a really high percentage, especially if we know that this percentage was calculated for the US dollar and not for the Turkish lira.

 

The investment was the purchase of an apartment under construction in an investment project in Sisli two years before the date of writing the article, equivalent to $ 150.000, and today the value of this same apartment is about $ 315.000, two years after the start of this investment.

 

The good news is that this project is constructing a new tower with the same specifications as the first investment tower, in which opportunities can be seized now.

 

The article that was written last year about the best investment project in Sisli is still valid for another 3 years with the launch of the new tower in Bomonti project itself. You can read more: The best investment opportunity in Istanbul 2020, 30% return on investment within a year

 

We only mentioned one of the high profit rates achieved by Right Home investors to avoid prolongation, but always remember to get the best investment opportunities, all you have to do is contact us to help you with that.

In the first section of today's article, we talked about the feasibility of real estate investment in Istanbul, and now we will talk a little bit about Turkish citizenship through investment, what are the advantages of a Turkish passport and a comparison of the program for obtaining Turkish citizenship through investment with competing European countries.

 

What is the importance of the Turkish passport?

• The Turkish passport 2020 ranks 54th among the world's passports.
• A Turkish passport holder can travel to 110 countries around the world without the need to obtain a visa.
• The holder can travel to 33 countries and obtain a visa upon arrival.
• The holder can travel to more than 8 countries with an electronic visa by extracting it online.
• The Turkish passport can be obtained within a short period of about 10 days.
• The possibility of applying for a Turkish passport immediately after obtaining Turkish citizenship, and there is no need for a specific period of residence.
• The possibility for investors to obtain a Turkish passport in return for a real estate investment worth at least $ 250.000, provided that it is not sold for three years.
• Turkish passport holder can benefit from retirement programs like any Turkish citizen.
• The Turkish passport holder has the right to vote in all kinds of elections in Turkey.
• The Turkish passport allows the foreign holder to retain his original nationality or obtain another nationality.
• The Turkish passport is valid for 10 years.
• Those who have a Turkish passport are allowed to renew it for life.
• The holder gets all the medical rights granted to Turkish citizens.
• The holder gets all the educational opportunities granted to Turkish citizens.

 

What countries allow Turkish passport holders to enter without a visa?

Qatar - Tunisia - Iraq - Libya - Morocco - Sultanate of Oman - Palestine - Jordan - Albania - Antiguru and Barbuda - Argentina - Bahamas - Barbados - Belarus - Russia - Belize - Bolivia - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Botswana - Brazil - Brunei - Chile - Colombia - Costa Rica - Dominican Republic - Ecuador - El Salvador - Fiji - Gambia - Georgia Guatemala - Haiti - Honduras - Hong Kong - Indonesia - Iran - Jamaica - Japan - Kazakhstan - Kosovo - Kyrgyzstan - Macau - Macedonia - Malaysia - Mauritius - Micronesia - Moldova - Montenegro - Nicaragua - Panama - Paraguay - Peru - Philippines - Saint Kitts and Nevis - Saint Louis - Sao Tome and Principe - Senegal - Serbia - Singapore - South Africa - South Korea - Saint Vincent and Grenada - Swaziland - Trinidad and Tobago - Ukraine - Uruguay - Vanuatu - Venezuela.

 

What are the countries that allow the holder of a Turkish passport to automatically obtain a visa upon arrival?

Kuwait - Bahrain - Lebanon - Sudan - Comoros - Armenia - Azerbaijan - Cambodia - Cape Verde - Ivory Coast - Djibouti - Dominica - Guinea - Bissau - Madagascar - Maldives - Marshall Islands - Mauritania - Mozambique - Nepal - Palau - Samoa - Seychelles - Suriname - Taiwan - Tanzania - East Timor - Togo - Tonga - Tuvalu - Uganda - Zambia - Zimbabwe.

 

What are the types of Turkish passport?

• Ordinary Turkish passport (red, granted to any Turkish citizen or any person who has obtained Turkish citizenship).
• Special Turkish Passport (Green, given to senior government officials in Turkey).
• Stamped Turkish passport (grey, given to public officials and journalists).
• Turkish Diplomatic Passport (black, given to Turkish diplomats and ambassadors).

 

Finally, let's compare the requirements for obtaining a Turkish passport compared to other countries.

 

How can you buy Malta citizenship?

According to the BBC, the Maltese government introduced the program in 2014 with the aim of attracting the wealthy and boosting investment in the country.

In order to obtain a passport, the applicant must contribute to the following:

• Payment of € 650.000 (equivalent to £ 554.000) to a national development fund.
• Payment of € 150.000 in shares in the Maltese Stock Exchange.
• Buying real estate worth at least € 350.000 (or renting a property for € 16.000 per year).
• The total amount reaches € 1.150.000.
• The applicant must also have held residency status for more than 12 months, despite not having to actually live there.

 

How is a Commonwealth of Dominica passport obtained?

A real estate investment of $ 280.000 or a contribution to a government fund of $ 1.000.000 and also fulfilling other specific requirements that each investor must meet:

• The applicant must be at least 18 years old.
• Must have no criminal records.
• Must undergo security checks and obtain approval.
• He should be able to prove the nature of the legal business of the source of his investment.
• He should be in good health.

 

How to get a Cypriot passport?

An applicant who wishes to obtain citizenship of Cyprus through the Real Estate Investment Program must own real estate worth € 2.5 million and also meet the following general requirements:

• Must have a clean criminal record.
• Must be over 18 years old.
• Must not own any assets that are frozen within the EU as a result of sanctions.
• Must not have been refused citizenship by another EU country.
• EU citizens who wish to obtain a Cypriot passport must hold a valid Schengen visa (does not apply to non-EU citizens).
• Non-EU citizens must hold a Cypriot residence permit for at least six months prior to naturalization.

 

How do I get the citizenship program in Antigua and Barbuda?

The main applicant must meet certain criteria to get this application approved, and also make a real estate investment of at least $ 400.000 and pledge not to resell it for at least 5 years:

• He/she must be at least 18 years old.
• He must not have criminal records.
• He must confirm the source of his investment from legitimate sources.
• He should be healthy.
• Security checks must be completed and approval must be obtained.

 

How do I get the citizenship program in Saint Kitts and Nevis?

The Saint Kitts and Nevis Immigration Program for Investors does not require the applicant to speak the country's official language or study its history. Here are some general criteria that applicants must meet before submitting an application:

• The applicant must not have any criminal records against him.
• Must be willing to undergo security investigations check.
• He must be able to prove the nature of his legal acts to the source of the investment.
• He must be at least 18 years old.
• He should be healthy.

 

The application is made through a real estate investment of at least $ 400.000 with a government approved real estate developer. Only properties such as villas and condominiums are considered under this program and can be resold after five years. Additional purchase and government fees apply based on the number of dependents.

 

How to obtain a Grenada passport?

Besides fulfilling the necessary investment criteria, there are some requirements that every applicant must fulfil to obtain citizenship from the country.

 

• The age of the applicant should not be less than 18 years.
• He must not have any registered criminal record.
• A check must be issued for the value of the security investigations.
• He must be able to confirm his investment sources.
• He should be healthy.

 

The application is made through a real estate investment in the country with a value of at least $ 220.000. The property can be offered for sale after five years from the date of initial purchase. Applicants are required to pay an additional government fee (subject to change based on the number of dependents) to have their application approved.

 

How to get a second passport from Saint Lucia?

In order to be able to apply for the citizenship of the country by investment, the investor must fulfil some specific requirements, as listed below:

 

• The main applicant must be at least 18 years old.
• He must have a clean criminal record.
• He should be healthy.
• He must be able to prove the source of his investment.
• Security checks must be completed and approval must be obtained.

 

The application is made through a real estate investment of $ 300.000 in a government approved property.

 

There are many other countries as well, and we will be satisfied with this number. When comparing the advantages of obtaining Turkish citizenship with the nationalities of these other countries, we can easily find the difference through the amount of investment and through the required conditions and the feasibility of real estate investment

 

For any question regarding obtaining Turkish citizenship, you can contact us so that our legal team will answer all your questions accurately and free of charge.