Turkey was recently featured in the Place in the Sun as being the third most popular place to invest.
Quite frankly you really do not know who to believe!!
The more you read about hyped property hotspots the more the sheep bah.........................
I have been a lamb to the slaughter going on the hype of a developer/company called Regnum. On the one hand I had the good sense to stall in order to get the contract revised. On the other I lost my small deposit, though they had said it was refundable, because they were not prepared to modify the contract and I had deliberated for some time. I cited that I was not buying a bag of apples though you would have thought from the amount of constant pressure I had from them that that was exactly what I was purchasing. I am still insisting they reimburse me but they are a law unto themselves.
Do we really know which way to turn by reading statistics, relying on recommendations from those in the know who are smug about having several properties under their belt and have made a killing. They are the lucky ones we say because they have got in at the beginning. Ouch, jealousy reigns.
The last 10 years have seen vast tracts of investment pouring worldwide into property on the back of seminars first instigated by the Americans. Now look how they are suffering for taking their own advice. Though, it hasn't stopped Russell Whitney running his seminars over here in the UK. But guess what his seminars are now based on the downturn of the market. How to make a killing off other people's misery. (what suckers)
Borrowing heavily on home equity has fuelled a pulsating market of property speculators. Some have been remarkably successful, others not so. One lady, in the Mail last week, complained that she had made huge losses by releasing a vast amount of equity (£500,000) from her house to plunge it into 5-6 houses all at the same time without testing the water. Some where in Florida. She had been to an Inside Track seminar. They promised her she could make fantastic gains. She paid for the seminar and a load of commission per the property and for the privilege of making such heavy losses. She could go bankrupt as the figures don't stack up. Now she has the audacity (according to everyone else) to be suing for negligence. Good luck to her.
Quite frankly, (and frank is not always honest), if you put someone else in control of your finances you are asking for trouble.
Oh yes, I was talking about Turkey, I have digressed........................
It seems to me that a lot of people rely on others for their decisions. Are they too scared to make their own minds up? Are they too scared to make the right/wrong choices? They are too easily swayed by the masses. The hype on property prices in Turkey is a case in point. Some have gone up, others have stagnated. Noone can give us a straight answer as to the percentage growth. Of course not!!! There is no big database from which we can glean the answers. Things are not done like that in Turkey. Not yet anyway.
One minute Turkey is in vogue, it is the next Spain 15 years ago; then the next, it may, and I say, it may not be so good. This definitely feels like I am on a roller coaster. But this roller coaster applies to everywhere. Dubai is one, Brazil could or could not, Florida is up it is down, the list is endless when you read the regular outpourings from the various property mentors and organisations. Is there really any sound investment anywhere I ask.
With the credit crunch in some areas of the world impacting on the various banks capabilities of lending to others has only underlined the fact as to how greedy the top end of the market has become.
Is it not time for people to stop and think why they may be running all over the world to make those incredible profits or not so great profits (as with Bulgaria).
Oh yes I forgot, it is for our pension and also to beat inflation.
Oh yes I forgot, property can never fail to make a profit.
So I bought in Turkey, yes it was cheap. No I did not buy in the ridiculously overpriced developments. So I won't be paying out for stupid maintenance and service charges and making other people rich for no reason. I bought because I liked it (oh god, investors will hate me now, because they do not class it as an investment) however, in the long term it will be an investment because its location is desireable. No grotty lager louts. I've also bought to get away from the crazy world of people who keep informing me of investments, investments. I am sick and tired of hearing about strategies that benefit only the sales teams in their spanking new offices. I want to kill the chatter and get off the treadmill. I want to pursue a life. I want, in a nutshell, to have a life!!!! I've bought because I want some sanity in my world. I've bought so that I don't pay inflated council tax. I've bought for a better quality of life. I've bought for so many reasons....... I have kept my own council. None of that may make logical sense to the profit-making investor. Bah, bah, bah........................sheep.
............But I still keep an ever watchful eye on inflation and worldwide property prices...................my head is realing!!!!!!!!!!!!
So many people are running around like headless chickens living for the ifs, buts and maybes of seeing stunning profits, they have truly lost sight of their own lives, (meaning and values).
Yes, there are plenty of affordable hotels in Turkey which means that renting out your investment is not as great as some would make out. Renting out to the local market is also variable largely dependent on where you are situated. You can still buy an investment because the prices are so low it can only go up. But by what percentage and by how much one can only guess at. Perhaps if people have less to spend with the imminent recession pending (god forbid) then more will buy lower priced property in places like Turkey. Cheap does not necessarily mean awful and tacky. Although there is lot of that around.
Prices in Turkey? well go and check it out for yourself there are some fabulous profitable finds to be discovered.
Full Version: Turkey's Property Prices
Upward, NOBODY with any sense listens to programmes like "A place in the sun" - these programme makers only want to make programmes to fill TV space and make money. The vogue for "Place in the Sun/Must have that house" type house-selling programmes has moved over to "Holiday Home from Hell" types, made with utter cynicism by the same people.
Turkey is in deep trouble - see my other post above on "Turkey Boom Time".
The days of "fabulous profitable finds" is long gone. Those who made such finds sold fast and got out. Those who are left are stuck with them. Lots of foreigners have moved to Turkey (particularly from Britain) and have found that they didn't do their homework, and now don't like it and can't get out, because they can't get anything like what they paid for their properties.
The Turkish property market has dropped between 15% and 40% depending on area in the last 6 months.
The country is unstable, the economy is in serious difficulty, and the coast is overdeveloped with mile after mile of villas for sale, none of which is cheap (sellers still haven't faced reality, a lot of these houses have been on the market for two or three years), but many of which are tacky. Yet new build goes relentlessly on, olive grove after olive grove ploughed up and covered in grotty concrete horrors aimed at the British market.
Add to that the recent announcement from one of the country's most learned earthquake experts that a major quake can be expected by 2010, and go and put your money somewhere else.
Yes, I read your other post.
Like I said it is impossible to say how the market is truly fairing since there aren't any statistics only anecdotal info.
People who moved out to Turkey were probably hoping that they could live like they do in England (home from home) but Turkey is such a different culture. You have to want to live amongst these people and understand their mentality, put up with low wages, and all the inconveniences in life associated with the Turkish life.
You can get luxury and sophistication if you live in Istanbul, Izmir and the major cities however it still feels very foreign and strange.
From an investment point of view the coastal regions have a glut of summer houses that were occupied by the Turks from the major towns, and have been put onto the secondhand market competing against new builds hence the market stalling and stagnating. People went in for refurb, or renovation or building new on plots of land which has left a lot of off-plan developments and completed developments unsold.
The EAs were saying to people that they should not buy anthing more than 7 years old as it was not earthquake proof. But buyers, pouring into the country, looking for bargains would steer towards the old resales because they were a lot cheaper and they could do them up. There is where they made their profit much to the disgust of the EAs. Because of the burgeoning secondhand market EAs then began to up the prices on the secondhand properties which to some degree made it seem as if the property market was on the rise. But the glut of property is still there.
Investors really are in competition with the very cheap hotels. Why would people want to necessarily pay over the odds to stay in private accommodation when they could find 4-star hotels at £7 per night half board.
It sounds as though I am arguing against investing in Turkey but I am saying that you are investing for yourself if you live there as the prices are affordable!
Are you suggesting with the civil war imminent that all the Germans, Brits, Dutch etc will be expelled from the country? Many chose to live there and have been doing so for years so they must like it and feel relatively safe!!! In fact the Germans and the Dutch have been living there when inflation was way off the healthy scale. They have lived there when times have been very much tougher than at present.
From an investor's point of view it is not cut and dried because there is such conflicting news out there. There are no hard figures to play with.
There has also been an influx of Russians canny for their spying out opportunities.
Oh yes, newspapers are also notorious for making up stories!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If we were to believe the press like the magazines we truly would be gullible.
You have to go out there and spend the time to find out for yourself the pros and cons for investing, living etc in a country such as Turkey.
Like I said it is impossible to say how the market is truly fairing since there aren't any statistics only anecdotal info.
People who moved out to Turkey were probably hoping that they could live like they do in England (home from home) but Turkey is such a different culture. You have to want to live amongst these people and understand their mentality, put up with low wages, and all the inconveniences in life associated with the Turkish life.
You can get luxury and sophistication if you live in Istanbul, Izmir and the major cities however it still feels very foreign and strange.
From an investment point of view the coastal regions have a glut of summer houses that were occupied by the Turks from the major towns, and have been put onto the secondhand market competing against new builds hence the market stalling and stagnating. People went in for refurb, or renovation or building new on plots of land which has left a lot of off-plan developments and completed developments unsold.
The EAs were saying to people that they should not buy anthing more than 7 years old as it was not earthquake proof. But buyers, pouring into the country, looking for bargains would steer towards the old resales because they were a lot cheaper and they could do them up. There is where they made their profit much to the disgust of the EAs. Because of the burgeoning secondhand market EAs then began to up the prices on the secondhand properties which to some degree made it seem as if the property market was on the rise. But the glut of property is still there.
Investors really are in competition with the very cheap hotels. Why would people want to necessarily pay over the odds to stay in private accommodation when they could find 4-star hotels at £7 per night half board.
It sounds as though I am arguing against investing in Turkey but I am saying that you are investing for yourself if you live there as the prices are affordable!
Are you suggesting with the civil war imminent that all the Germans, Brits, Dutch etc will be expelled from the country? Many chose to live there and have been doing so for years so they must like it and feel relatively safe!!! In fact the Germans and the Dutch have been living there when inflation was way off the healthy scale. They have lived there when times have been very much tougher than at present.
From an investor's point of view it is not cut and dried because there is such conflicting news out there. There are no hard figures to play with.
There has also been an influx of Russians canny for their spying out opportunities.
Oh yes, newspapers are also notorious for making up stories!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If we were to believe the press like the magazines we truly would be gullible.
You have to go out there and spend the time to find out for yourself the pros and cons for investing, living etc in a country such as Turkey.
QUOTE (Upward @ Apr 7 2008, 01:05 PM) 
Yes, I read your other post.
Like I said it is impossible to say how the market is truly fairing since there aren't any statistics only anecdotal info.
People who moved out to Turkey were probably hoping that they could live like they do in England (home from home) but Turkey is such a different culture. You have to want to live amongst these people and understand their mentality, put up with low wages, and all the inconveniences in life associated with the Turkish life.
You can get luxury and sophistication if you live in Istanbul, Izmir and the major cities however it still feels very foreign and strange.
From an investment point of view the coastal regions have a glut of summer houses that were occupied by the Turks from the major towns, and have been put onto the secondhand market competing against new builds hence the market stalling and stagnating. People went in for refurb, or renovation or building new on plots of land which has left a lot of off-plan developments and completed developments unsold.
The EAs were saying to people that they should not buy anthing more than 7 years old as it was not earthquake proof. But buyers, pouring into the country, looking for bargains would steer towards the old resales because they were a lot cheaper and they could do them up. There is where they made their profit much to the disgust of the EAs. Because of the burgeoning secondhand market EAs then began to up the prices on the secondhand properties which to some degree made it seem as if the property market was on the rise. But the glut of property is still there.
Investors really are in competition with the very cheap hotels. Why would people want to necessarily pay over the odds to stay in private accommodation when they could find 4-star hotels at £7 per night half board.
It sounds as though I am arguing against investing in Turkey but I am saying that you are investing for yourself if you live there as the prices are affordable!
Are you suggesting with the civil war imminent that all the Germans, Brits, Dutch etc will be expelled from the country? Many chose to live there and have been doing so for years so they must like it and feel relatively safe!!! In fact the Germans and the Dutch have been living there when inflation was way off the healthy scale. They have lived there when times have been very much tougher than at present.
From an investor's point of view it is not cut and dried because there is such conflicting news out there. There are no hard figures to play with.
There has also been an influx of Russians canny for their spying out opportunities.
Oh yes, newspapers are also notorious for making up stories!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If we were to believe the press like the magazines we truly would be gullible.
You have to go out there and spend the time to find out for yourself the pros and cons for investing, living etc in a country such as Turkey.
Like I said it is impossible to say how the market is truly fairing since there aren't any statistics only anecdotal info.
People who moved out to Turkey were probably hoping that they could live like they do in England (home from home) but Turkey is such a different culture. You have to want to live amongst these people and understand their mentality, put up with low wages, and all the inconveniences in life associated with the Turkish life.
You can get luxury and sophistication if you live in Istanbul, Izmir and the major cities however it still feels very foreign and strange.
From an investment point of view the coastal regions have a glut of summer houses that were occupied by the Turks from the major towns, and have been put onto the secondhand market competing against new builds hence the market stalling and stagnating. People went in for refurb, or renovation or building new on plots of land which has left a lot of off-plan developments and completed developments unsold.
The EAs were saying to people that they should not buy anthing more than 7 years old as it was not earthquake proof. But buyers, pouring into the country, looking for bargains would steer towards the old resales because they were a lot cheaper and they could do them up. There is where they made their profit much to the disgust of the EAs. Because of the burgeoning secondhand market EAs then began to up the prices on the secondhand properties which to some degree made it seem as if the property market was on the rise. But the glut of property is still there.
Investors really are in competition with the very cheap hotels. Why would people want to necessarily pay over the odds to stay in private accommodation when they could find 4-star hotels at £7 per night half board.
It sounds as though I am arguing against investing in Turkey but I am saying that you are investing for yourself if you live there as the prices are affordable!
Are you suggesting with the civil war imminent that all the Germans, Brits, Dutch etc will be expelled from the country? Many chose to live there and have been doing so for years so they must like it and feel relatively safe!!! In fact the Germans and the Dutch have been living there when inflation was way off the healthy scale. They have lived there when times have been very much tougher than at present.
From an investor's point of view it is not cut and dried because there is such conflicting news out there. There are no hard figures to play with.
There has also been an influx of Russians canny for their spying out opportunities.
Oh yes, newspapers are also notorious for making up stories!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If we were to believe the press like the magazines we truly would be gullible.
You have to go out there and spend the time to find out for yourself the pros and cons for investing, living etc in a country such as Turkey.
we bought in kalkan in 2002. we bought because we wanted a place in the sun in a nice area tht would hopefully give us a bit of cap. growth. we didnt buy because we thought turkey would get into the EU or that we would enjoy huge rental returns ( we never really thought that worth the bother frankly for the money you can get...even then). we bought it cos we liked it...kalkan's grown quite a bit since then - & yes there are a shedload of "villas" stacked closer together...but we still like it. Would we ever live out there...probably not year round...what's great for a holiday is not necessarily what you want all the time..anyone who ups sticks without thinking the ramifications through anywhere...well they're not planning are they, just dreamers that wake up in a nightmare.
Yes turkey property prices zoomed up to 2005 & have flattened out now, but it's all cyclical innit??
Kalkan was a lovely place when I visited a few years ago, I loved it. At that time it was a bit remote too and away from the maddening crowd.
However, the difficult aspect of its location did not deter such companies like Avatar from building there amongst the many. First they were in Bulgaria then they quickly went over to Kalkan to make a killing, so to speak. Detached villas were being built at ludicrous prices, some starting from £350,000 when everything else was so much cheaper. I can't help feeling that these companies instigated the proliferation of overpriced property in Kalkan and also assisted in its defacement. The press where also responsible for the stampede. Everyone began to pile into the beautiful Kalkan like sheep and probably spoilt it for others from thereon. Kas is another place that looks like a minature Fethiye. But I reckon this has also gone the same way as other towns.
However, no matter how much someone goes on about Turkey and its political stance in the world and its borders that need to be protected essentially the normal man in the street lives his life very much like the resident in the UK. They struggle with increased prices and inflation. Alright this is an earthquake region but they don't have earthquakes every five minutes!!!
The downside of them not joining the EU may be a blessing in disguise. If prices are a 1/4 of what the English have to pay for living a basic quality of life in the UK then I say it can't be all that bad in Turkey. However, if inflation starts charging ahead as it did prior to 2001 then there is a definite need to worry. If you live in Turkey and own your house outright with no mortgage it is better than sitting depressed in the UK with a house you may not own and having to pay way over the odds for the basic bills!!!
Turkey is a place you either love or hate and probably long term it may be an added investment bonus but don't necessarily count on this.
However, the difficult aspect of its location did not deter such companies like Avatar from building there amongst the many. First they were in Bulgaria then they quickly went over to Kalkan to make a killing, so to speak. Detached villas were being built at ludicrous prices, some starting from £350,000 when everything else was so much cheaper. I can't help feeling that these companies instigated the proliferation of overpriced property in Kalkan and also assisted in its defacement. The press where also responsible for the stampede. Everyone began to pile into the beautiful Kalkan like sheep and probably spoilt it for others from thereon. Kas is another place that looks like a minature Fethiye. But I reckon this has also gone the same way as other towns.
However, no matter how much someone goes on about Turkey and its political stance in the world and its borders that need to be protected essentially the normal man in the street lives his life very much like the resident in the UK. They struggle with increased prices and inflation. Alright this is an earthquake region but they don't have earthquakes every five minutes!!!
The downside of them not joining the EU may be a blessing in disguise. If prices are a 1/4 of what the English have to pay for living a basic quality of life in the UK then I say it can't be all that bad in Turkey. However, if inflation starts charging ahead as it did prior to 2001 then there is a definite need to worry. If you live in Turkey and own your house outright with no mortgage it is better than sitting depressed in the UK with a house you may not own and having to pay way over the odds for the basic bills!!!
Turkey is a place you either love or hate and probably long term it may be an added investment bonus but don't necessarily count on this.
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.