selling resales in turkey

[Bluebell]

Just out of interest how many of you have resold a property in turkey? I have noticed that a few propertys have been on the market for a year sometimes 2 and it is a bit of a concern. Do people only want new places? it seems that way.
is it because so many new builds are going up and they are more modern? what happens if you cant shift a place? do you sell cheapish?

 

[Tonya]

I sold my property in 2005. It went on the market Oct 2004 (end of season, no direct winter flights) and it sold in April 2005.

If you price your property realistically a Turkish person may buy it, which would speed up the process as it can be bought in a day.

 

[Neil2]

I was in Turkey last week and was specifically looking at resales as I prefer established house and locations (less chance of a nasty suprise) and I think pricing is the key and how the property is set for forsale. I will give some examples

1 bed apartment in Turunc 10+ years old £75,000 pounds inside it was clutered, untidy, sorry to say dirty and in need of some refurbishment. No one will buy that property in that state, if they just furnished it simply and cleaned it and gave it a coat of paint it would make all the difference.

We then went to a new build admittedly a two bed apartment for £89,000, all new and fresh and ready to go although £14,000 more a much beter deal when you look at what needed doing.

Also while viewing two seperate properties one for £74,000 the vendor informed the agent while we there that the new prices was £100,000 and this is in an area where there must 10+ identical properties forsale and some had been on the market for 12 months plus, so totally unrealistic expectation by the vendor. The same happend at a house for £130,000 where they put it up to £200,000 again while we were viewing and this is house that has been forsale for 2 years.

The current market looks relatively flat in Turkey with not much moving in the resale market and a glut of new builds so this must be a buyers market, but vendors seem to think they have all the cards and put unrealistic prices on there properties

Sorry for the rant but I have come back very confused and still no closer to buying a resale in Turkey, although there are two new builds that caught my eye as they seem a better deal.

Neil

 

[Harem]

We bought our duplex, 5 bedroomed apartment in July 2004 and moved in at the end of October 2004. We put it up for sale in May/June 2005 and sold it at the end of September 2005, with completion in January 2006. We got the asking price of £75,000. We sold to a Turkish man who lives and has his own business in London.

 

[Lynda]

Neil2 I can sympathise with your experiencs but from the other side. Whilst working for Turyap ( turkish Real estate Company) I was involved in a number of re sales of Turkish property. The owners could not see any reason to tidy/clean the apartment for sale - that was the buyers job!!! eh? Then you would take a non Turk to buy and suddenly the good price you thought you had found for your customers has doubled - drove me crazy.. grrrrrrrrrrr and dissapointed a far few customers.
I have my own company now and have anumber of resales on my books but mainly properties that I look after for other foreigners - so I know what standard is there before I take anyone.
İt is difficult to market re sales as the competition from new builds is considerable...just had a deja vu feeling I am sure I wrote about this a short while ago....I will have go check...

 

[biggles]

i think a lot of people want to buy new ,or nearly new as they have tightened up the earthquake spec on new builds.i also think if you buy off plan/or new you have to be prepared to keep it a while if you are going to make a profit,unless you rent it out[if you can] that is.

 

[bodrumsjh]

We bought a new flat in Bodrum in 2005 and were contacted by the agents in 2006 with an offer to sell. The offerred price was about 30% above buy price.

We declined because we are not looking to sell yet, so who knows if the offer would have actually gone through!

I think the relatively recently enforced earthquake specs and insulation help the price. More importantly perhaps, I think that ease of resale will depend on location, location, location, as it does anywhere else in the world. This must be especially true as long as a lot of new building is taking place in the area.

A lot of people will prefer new build for their holiday homes, especially if prices are similar to, or better than resales.

Unfortunately when we are in the sun, we can all tend to forget the financial practicalities and believe we are buying into the Agent's version of a "guaranteed return" dream.

Just look at the number of unsold / unrented, newish properties in Spain where new golf estates in the middle of nowhere are being built - ten a penny....

 

[Bluebell]

the problem is that most of the places for sale all look much the same so i spose location is key. still though, resells in all turkish locations don't seem to move, not from what i've been told and researched myself. there seems to be lots of price reductions and some of these resales are on the market for years. if they keep building newer and more modern places the way they are then supply is going to outstrip demand and you wont be able to give it away. :kafa: maybe renting is the best opsion and investing in property at home, sounds much safer. you could save on maintenance costs and paying tax for 2 places that way.

 

[immac]

Owners, trying to sell, have often accepted as gospel the lies and exagerations they were given when they bought; they believed that property values will always go up by 20% a year, a myth still believed by some of my Turkish friends who have seen it happen and believe it will continue.
So, when they come to resell, they ask daft prices in the face of a stagnant or falling market. They persist in trying to buck the market in the hope that if you wish something is true, it will be so.
The real value is based upon land prices, building costs and, ultimately, demand. Property has been sold in the past ignoring the first two fundamentals so, when the market retracts, owners find that all three come into play and they have bought into the market at too high a price.
People who are taking the long term outlook can sit on such an 'investment' until they die and it does not matter what they paid so long as they are happy with it. But people who run into financial problems, or realise they would like to holiday somewhere else, or the promissed rental income is not supporting their dream home and want to sell-up, will take a big hit on their investment.

Ian

 

[jcrian]

Owners, trying to sell, have often accepted as gospel the lies and exagerations they were given when they bought; they believed that property values will always go up by 20% a year, a myth still believed by some of my Turkish friends who have seen it happen and believe it will continue.
So, when they come to resell, they ask daft prices in the face of a stagnant or falling market. They persist in trying to buck the market in the hope that if you wish something is true, it will be so.
The real value is based upon land prices, building costs and, ultimately, demand. Property has been sold in the past ignoring the first two fundamentals so, when the market retracts, owners find that all three come into play and they have bought into the market at too high a price.
People who are taking the long term outlook can sit on such an 'investment' until they die and it does not matter what they paid so long as they are happy with it. But people who run into financial problems, or realise they would like to holiday somewhere else, or the promissed rental income is not supporting their dream home and want to sell-up, will take a big hit on their investment.

Ian

I quite agree with you Ian.

All to do with supply and demand and anything is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it.

 

[Aunty]

We have our penthouse up for sale with no interest as yet, which hasn`t come as a shock really. What I would like to know is, if people think the price we are asking for is realistic. It is advertised on the Forum under penthouse/duplex. (Altinkum) Must mention photo`s a bit out of date as a lot more improvements done on the property.

 

[shirleyanntr]

i agree with ian..and also there is too much hype about ''investment'..the housing market is in the doldrums at the moment.
As for older properties those built before the laws were tightened following the '99 earthquake are not a good prospect.
Neil2 a 10 year old one bed apartment for that price is crazy..even if it was dicky-dolled up..its still too much...and no chance of regaining that money.

 

[Terry the Celt]

Looking at this thread and others re property ove the past few months it is amazing how quickly some properties are back on the market so soon after they have been bought.
Obviously there can be unforeseen circumstances such as a death or sudden financial problem but does some peoples love affair with Turkey end up a shortlived one.
It seems such a shame to go to all that effort to buy a holiday home and wait perhaps a year for the Tapu only to put it back on the market say 6 months or so later.
We have been in our UK home for 21 years and want our Turkey place to be a long term thing too and as Ian said its only people who seem to be in and out quick that have the greatest loss.
Property is a bit like the stock market in that you take the peaks with the troughs but overall long term its a good investment compared with burying the money in a bank at low interest rates. When you look at the ridiculous property prices here in Kent and compare that with what we bought for £45k in Turkey ,there is no comparison.
Kym and others advertise apartments in their areas for even less and when a lot of buyers are people approaching retirement who own UK homes, to be honest £35-45k is not a lot of money to spend and is only the cost of a modest extension in the UK.
People pay £25k in the UK for just a 4 x 4 and in Turkey you can get a complete home albeit modest for not a great deal more.
I wonder if the people who have the most problems are those who spend money on a tight budget that they cannot afford to lose a proportion of and they have to think day by day or short term. They are effected directly by short term trends or by an event such as a bombing in a particular year and they are unable to see anything long term. In a position like that I dont think you should buy property anywhere as its not an asset you can just leave because you are constantly worrying about a need to get back some cash from it.
We have a modest car around 7k but neighbours across the road have a £45k Range Rover. I think they are mad to spend money you can buy a home in Turkey with on a depreciating asset like a car. People have different priorities.
Before we all get depressed just think about the cost of living in Turkey and what you can get or have got for money that would buy S** ALL in the UK

 

[lozengelegend]

Hear hear, Terry!

Anyway in my experience the people who are selling quickly are ones who were always planning to (fast-turn investors), or who bought a holiday apartment, fell in love with the area and want to upgrade! There are always a few who overstretched a little when they bought and are finding the screws back home are tightening, but most of our resellers are happy ones, I am glad to say.

Another important source of resales are Turkish sellers with older properties they have owned for a while, who have seen the market grow and want to liquidise their asset.

And as for buyers, they are looking for bargains or something special - like buyers everywhere!

 

[lynne]

Not all resales are grotty and untidy. I know of 3 immaculate fully furnished places here in Gundogan. One has all new IKEA furniture and white goods. Another one is a lovely British couple but unfortunately she now has cancer and they need to go back to the UK. 3rd one also is ill health forcing sale and thats lovely furniture too. They are bargain prices too for a quick sale.
I think with most resales you usually get a good deal. Problems have usually been sorted,gardens are established and if the furniture and fittings are good quality you can literally move straight in.
Lynne