Greed to earn more in empty stores on Istanbul's famous streets
by Pınar Çelik Nacar
ISTANBULOct 24, 2016 - 12:00 am GMT+3
by Pınar Çelik Nacar
Oct 24, 2016 12:00 am
Istanbul's most popular shopping streets, Bağdat and İstiklal, are victims of greed of owners that want to earn more. These streets, where a 100-square-meter store rents for $40,000, are filled with empty stores.
Urban renewal projects and increased tourist demand pushed up the value of Istanbul real estate properties. Property owners wanted to benefit from the rates created by these developments, disturbing the balance on famous shopping streets. Along with urban transformation on Bağdat Street, further increasing the value of stores, owners highly increased store rents which became the major reason behind the closure of restaurants and banks.
Rent up 50 percent
Savaş Kurtbaş, from the real estate company Remax't, said rent for commercial units of 100-150 square meters has reached up to $40,000 on Bağdat Street, a famous tourist spot in Anatolian Istanbul.
Mentioning that these figures were lower before urban transformation, he said: "The rent for the store emptied by the Koton brand is TL 110,000 [$35,660] at the moment. While the increase in the dollar has affected rents by 30 percent, property owners' ambition to gain more has pushed prices up a further 10 percent. Thus, compared to five years ago, rents have increased by 50 percent. Over 40 stores are empty. Since he doesn't need the rent money, the owner is leaving the store empty until someone meets his desired figure."
Also, store-owners, putting a "we are closing" plaque on their stores, said they are struggling to pay their rent. One store-owner on Bağdat Street, İsmail Yapıcı, noted that they had been selling glasses for 10 years on the street; however, they had to close the store after the extraordinary increase in rent due to urban transformation projects. "It is impossible for us to tolerate these figures any more. Therefore, we are closing the store. We are going to continue with our central store for now," he said.
İstİklal returning to its former state
İstiklal Avenue in Taksim, where stores closed due to the decline in the number of tourists, lower turnover and higher rents, has begun to stir again. Officials of İnci, which opened in February, said: "Especially in summer, we had a shortage of tourists because of the terrorist attacks. Most of the stores closed because of this. However, in the last 20 days our sales are going well." While Benetton, Bershka, McDonald's, Hummel and Diesel stores are closing on İstiklal Avenue, Damat is expanding its store and Chanel is opening a new one. Also, some new restaurants will be opening.
Owner also at a loss
Beyoğlu Real Estate official Remzi Ünal said, on İstiklal Avenue, rent per square meter starts from TL 10,000. Ünal, who underlined that the property owner wants TL 50,000 for a store of 50 square meters, said: "Many shops are currently closed because of high rents. But the balance will be established very soon. Otherwise, store-owners will also lose."
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