House sales in Türkiye are on track to reach a new annual record despite a slowdown in November, in a year marked by tight monetary policy in place to tame inflation.
Sales totaled 1.43 million units from January through November, up 13.3% compared to a year ago, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) showed on Tuesday.
December typically serves as a peak month due to year-end closing rush and inflation-hedging behavior. Monthly sales had exceeded 100,000 units in December in each of the past five years and even surpassed 200,000 units in 2021, 2022 and 2024.
Full-year sales are now widely expected to surpass the 1.5 million record set in 2020, when aggressive mortgage campaigns during the COVID-19 pandemic boosted demand.
Total home sales reached 1.48 million last year.
In November, sales fell 7.8% year-over-year to 141,100 units, the lowest level in five months. The decline followed three consecutive months that recorded the highest monthly sales of the year.
Despite elevated borrowing costs and persistent inflationary pressures, the housing market remained resilient throughout this year.
Policymakers sharply raised interest rates in 2023 to rein in inflation, which peaked at about 75% in May last year, before beginning a gradual easing cycle, which brought the policy rate to 38% as of last month.
Annual inflation cooled to 31% in November, the lowest level in four years. Analysts expect the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) to continue easing next year.
Tuesday's data showed mortgaged sales declined 1.4% year-over-year to 21,499 units in November, but rose 53.5% in the first 11 months to 207,519.
New home sales climbed 8.9% from a year ago to 444,096 units from January through November, while second hand sales jumped 15.4% to 990,037.
Separate data by CBRT on Tuesday showed housing prices increased in real terms for the first time in 22 months in November.
The Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) rose by 2.7% compared to October, the central bank said.
The index, which measures quality-adjusted price changes of dwellings, recorded an annual increase of 31.4% in nominal terms. Inflation-adjusted figures revealed a 0.3% increase.
The last time prices increased in real terms was in January 2024, when they rose 1.4%.
Meanwhile, the TurkStat data showed sales to foreigners decreased by 9.7% year-over-year in November to 1,943 units.
By nationality, Russian citizens accounted for the highest number of purchases with 310 units, followed by Ukrainians with 159 and Germans with 151.
In the January-November period, sales to foreigners dropped by 11.1% to 18,993 units.
