Türkiye’s real estate sector experienced a significant slowdown in May, with house sales dropping markedly compared to the same month last year, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said in a statement on Thursday.

TurkStat reported that new home sales fell by 27.9 percent year-on-year in May, totaling 30,196 units. Existing home sales declined even more sharply, dropping 32.7 percent to 63,137 units.

Existing properties continued to dominate the market, accounting for 67.6 percent of total housing transactions, while newly built homes represented 32.4 percent.

Calendar-adjusted data also showed a decline in activity, with new home sales decreasing by 3.6 percent and existing home sales falling by 11.3 percent compared to May of the previous year.

On a seasonally and calendar-adjusted basis, new home sales decreased by 3.4 percent from April, while existing home sales edged down by 0.5 percent.

Mortgage-financed housing transactions remained subdued despite a modest decline in borrowing costs in recent months.

According to TurkStat, mortgaged home sales decreased by 2.8 percent year-on-year to 19,754 units in May. Other types of home sales, including cash purchases and non-mortgage transactions, fell by 36.2 percent to 73,579 units.

Mortgaged sales accounted for 21.2 percent of all housing transactions during the month, while non-mortgaged sales represented 78.8 percent.

Sales of residential properties to foreign buyers also continued their downward trend.

House sales to foreigners declined by 27 percent in May compared to the same month last year, reaching 1,387 units. Foreign purchases accounted for just 1.5 percent of total home sales during the month.

In the January–May period, home sales to foreign nationals fell by 15.1 percent year-on-year to 7,068 units.

Russian citizens remained the largest group of foreign buyers in May, purchasing 268 homes. They were followed by Iranian nationals with 125 purchases and Ukrainian citizens with 88 transactions.

The slowdown extended to the commercial real estate market, where both new and existing property sales recorded notable decreases.

New commercial property sales fell by 24.8 percent year-on-year to 3,255 units, while existing commercial property sales dropped by 33.1 percent to 8,179 units.

Despite the broader slowdown, mortgaged commercial property sales rose by 22.9 percent compared to May 2025, reaching 536 units.

Meanwhile, other commercial property transactions declined by 32.4 percent to 10,898 units.

Calendar-adjusted figures showed new commercial property sales slipping by 0.4 percent and existing commercial property sales declining by 12.9 percent from a year earlier.

On a monthly basis, seasonally and calendar-adjusted data indicated that new commercial property sales fell by 2.8 percent, while existing commercial property sales declined by 6.2 percent.

The latest data suggest that Türkiye’s real estate market continues to face pressure from economic uncertainty, financing constraints, and weaker domestic and foreign demand.

While mortgage-backed commercial transactions showed some resilience, the broader decline in both residential and commercial sales points to a more cautious market environment as the country moves into the second half of 2026. (ILKHA)