07.10.2026

The days when all real estate in a country went up are over. Today you don't choose a country, a city or even a district, but a specific residential complex in a specific neighborhood. According to DDA Real Estate Turkey's estimate, no more than 7% of properties pass the liquidity test. Below I break down the 10 metrics we use to select them.

70% of investors in overseas real estate earn no income, and half of them suffer direct losses. It's not about the country. Dubai, Bali, Thailand or Turkey, the same rule applies everywhere: liquid real estate makes up no more than 7% of the market. The remaining 93% look good in a rendering but offer no exit.

Turkey is no exception. Of the 100 Istanbul residential complexes you see on billboards and on Instagram, 93 are in districts where we don't let our Clients go.

Let's look at the provincial data. According to Endeksa for August 2026, housing prices across Turkey rose 23.6% year on year. In Istanbul growth was 27.4%, in Antalya 25.8%, in Isparta 24.8%, in Muğla 24.3%, in Burdur 19.6%, in Mersin 19.0%. In Balıkesir and Çanakkale prices gained 16.0%, in Tekirdağ 13.9%, in Aydın 11.8%. In Bodrum, growth over 12 months was 16.2% (data for September 2026).

Now let's convert everything to dollars (the exchange rate rose 17.7% over the year):

Antalya, Isparta and Burdur sit next to each other on the map and belong to the same region. But in dollar terms Antalya grew by 6.9%, while Burdur grew by only 1.6%. An even clearer example is Muğla and Bodrum: the province as a whole gained 5.6% in dollars, while Bodrum, its most expensive resort, went negative on average.

But even within Bodrum the picture is uneven. The Çamlık neighborhood grew 40.1% over the year, Gürece 36.1%, Yalıkavak 15.7%. In Türkbükü prices fell by 7.2%, in Gölköy by 36.5%. One resort, yet a spread from +40% to -36%.

It's the same in Antalya: the city average is +6.9% in dollars, but Kepez grew by 12.7%, and Aksu by only 2.5%. In Istanbul, over 2020-2026, the Maltepe district grew by 215% in dollar terms, while Esenyurt slid back to pre-COVID levels. The whole difference lies in the choice of property.

We run every property through 10 metrics. Only properties scoring 75 points or more out of 100 make it into a Client's selection.

You can't buy "Istanbul" or "Antalya." You buy a specific neighborhood: metro, schools, hospitals, a business cluster, the sea. For example, Konyaaltı in Antalya actually consists of four different markets:

Same district, yet an almost fivefold difference in growth.

The main question I ask before buying: how much does the same apartment in the same location sell for today? A liquid property sells in 1-3 months. An illiquid one sits on the market for a year or longer. In Antalya's anti-districts (Zeytinköy, Baraj, Erenköy), resale takes more than 180 days and requires a 25-30% discount. Banks there often refuse mortgages, which means your buyer at exit won't be able to get a loan.

This is the key metric and what sets Turkey apart from Dubai, Bali and Thailand.

98.5% of all transactions in Turkey are made by Turks themselves. In August 2026, foreigners accounted for only 1.5% of housing sales. Even in Antalya, the country's main resort, 92% of transactions are made by Turks.

Why this benefits the investor:

Example: in the Ant0316 complex in Lara, the apartments were snapped up by Turks; foreigners got only 3 apartments. For me, that is the best sign of liquidity.

A liquid property earns money while you hold it. Across Turkey, rents rose 26.4% over the year, while prices rose 23%. In Istanbul, rents gained 34.5%, which is +14.3% in dollars. Rents are growing faster than prices, which means yields are growing. We prefer long-term rentals: they are more stable than short-term ones and don't depend on the season. In liquid districts, yields are 6-9% per year in dollars.

When buying an apartment, you need to know right away who you will sell it to later. A complex next to the Maslak business cluster is bought by employees of major companies and affluent Turks. An apartment in a mass-development area can only be sold at a discount, because buyers there are looking for the cheapest option.

Prices grow where there is little new housing. An example from Konyaaltı: one complex has 75 apartments, the one next door has 158. In the second, when you sell, you compete with a hundred identical sellers. In Maslak there are almost no vacant building plots left, so every new unit there is in short supply.

The price of a new build must be confirmed by the resale market. We always check what comparable units cost on sahibinden.com. An example from Istanbul: two complexes from $500,000 in neighboring districts. In the first, the price is confirmed by resale, with a yield of about 8% per year. In the second, a comparable 1+1 on the resale market costs $300,000, while the developer is asking $500,000, 40% above market. The yield there is 4-5%, and such apartments take years to sell. A property like that is sold by the presentation, not by the market.

Profit is locked in at the moment of purchase. In the Ant0316 complex, comparable units next door cost about 20% more, and on top of that the buyer is exempt from the TAPU tax (4%). That is $16,000-18,000 in savings before you even get the keys. In the Konyaaltı example, the liquid property was 15% cheaper than its neighbor, while the illiquid one was 15% more expensive.

If a complex has only 1+1 and 2+1 units, families don't live there. Such a complex is full of investors, and when selling they compete with each other. A complex with 3+1, 4+1 (and larger) units and duplexes is occupied by families with children. And that means stable tenants and stable buyers.

A property that qualifies for a residence permit or citizenship (from $400,000) has an additional pool of buyers. When a district is closed for residence permits, foreign demand leaves it. In Konyaaltı this happened with Hurma and Sarısu: where Turks remained, the market held up; where there were none, stagnation set in.

Index of the average price per m² in dollars (2020 = 100):

The liquid property doubled; the illiquid one slid back. Both apartments are in Istanbul, both were bought in 2020, yet the results are the opposite.

Where Prices Grow: 7 Liquid Districts of Istanbul

Where Prices Don't Grow: Anti-Districts

A low price doesn't mean a good deal. Turks don't buy here, which means a foreigner has no business here either.

If you buy "average Turkey" today, you can expect roughly +5% in dollar terms, and in some cities and resorts you may end up in the red. If you buy liquidity, +7-15% in dollars plus 6-9% rental yield is realistic.

Turkey gives investors something Dubai, Bali and Thailand don't have: a market that is 98.5% driven by local buyers. But you need to know how to use this advantage. Liquidity today is the investor's new currency.

At DDA Real Estate Turkey, we don't sell a country. We select the 7% of properties that have an exit.