Turkey's House Price Index (TKFE) increased by 18.76 percent in July, compared to the same month last year. Housing sector representatives attribute this surge to the rise in exchange rates and consumers' rising demand for house purchases. Turkey's prominent contractors commented on TKFE, which is determined by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CRBT) through analyses of the value assessment reports of houses that have been constructed in 45 cities within the past two years. Ağaoğlu Group Chairman Ali Ağaoğlu said contractors did not reflect the rise in costs of house prices for a long time but they started to reflect the burden caused by the increase in exchange rates and costs to prices this year. Underlining that fluctuations in the global economy led to a surge in costs, Ağaoğlu said house sales in the domestic market kept on track. He also said house sales increased compared to last year and real estate and construction sectors will continue to be the leading sectors in Turkey. Demir İnşaat CEO Hamit Demir, said the price of building materials soared by nearly 25 percent within three months with the rise of the dollar by the end of 2013. According to Demir, this figure continued to rise up to 35 percent, due to the rise of the dollar along with political uncertainties that have been experienced since June, and building materials saw a hike of nearly 50 percent within one-and-a-half years. Demir also said he expected a further increase in house prices in the upcoming days, as the price of construction products continues to rise and the construction of luxurious residences cost more.
