How Did 2024 Start?

The construction industry and real estate are two important interconnected sectors. The construction industry involves the design, development, construction and maintenance of building and infrastructure projects, while the real estate industry deals with the buying, selling, renting and management of property. Saying hello to 2024 after a difficult year, the construction industry continues its struggle with difficulty accessing credit, decline in sales, rising costs and qualified employment gap. According to Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) data, while housing sales decreased by 14.9 percent in the 11 months of 2023, the construction cost index increased by 66.46 percent. At the same time, neither housing prices nor rents have stabilized. According to Endeksa data, housing prices increased by 96 percent in November 2023, while the average housing price exceeded 3 million TL. According to TUIK data, the real rent index increased by 108.6 percent in December 2023 compared to the same period last year.

A contraction in demand in the real estate sector generally indicates a situation experienced in the purchase and sale of housing or the rental market.
Demand contraction can be caused by many factors. Economic factors such as economic uncertainties, high interest rates, increased unemployment or a decline in income levels in a region can negatively affect demand.

Stating that the construction industry is going through 2023 with a struggle, Teknik Yapı Chairman Umut Durbakalım made the following evaluations: “High interest rates on housing loans prevent current sales from being realized at the desired level.

TSKB Real Estate Appraisal General Manager Makbule Yönel Maya said, “House sales fell to their lowest level since 2015 with a total of 1,087,349 units in the 11-month period. Thus, housing sales decreased by 15% in 2023. The most striking data in the decline seen in 2023 was that the ratio of mortgage sales in total sales decreased to 16%, its lowest level to date. In the 11-month period; "The number of houses sold for the first time was 328 thousand 299, the number of houses sold with mortgages was 171 thousand 706, and the number of houses sold per working day was 4 thousand 687," he said.

Pointing out that one of the important topics of 2024 is the rapid increase in housing prices, Maya said, “While the annual nominal housing price increase is at the level of 86.5%, the annual real housing price increase is 15.6%, and the average unit price throughout Turkey is 30 thousand 36 TL / square meter.” happened as. "As of 2022, the home ownership rate is 56.7%, the tenant rate is 27.2%, and the annual decrease in housing sales in the 11-month period was -14.9%," he said. Pointing out that the issue of immigration is another important data in the housing market, Maya said, " There has been an average of 200 thousand net migrations in the last six years.

When these factors come together, the construction industry and real estate contribute to interconnected economic, financial and social dynamics. Therefore, professionals in these industries often follow market trends and economic indicators carefully.