The real estate sector is happy with the single-party government outcome of the elections, predicting that the stagnation in their sector will come to an end. Nizamettin Aşa of the Istanbul Public Real Estate agents Association encourages those who can afford it to buy now, as demand will soon increase and prices will rise as well

Real estate agents are excited about the outcome of the elections, but they are not in agreement over when its impact will be felt in their industry. While some real estate agents predict a boom in the sector during August or by September at the latest, Nizamettin Aşa, vice president of the Istanbul Public Real Estate Agents Association, foresees limited activity in the next one to two months with a revival following in 2008.

Aşa said the outcome of the election gives reason to hope that the current sector stagnation affecting both real estate agents and constructors will soon end. According to Aşa, contractors were on the verge of bankruptcy and real estate sales had almost stopped. He believes that lower interest rates will lead to an increase in demand as more people will be eager to invest in real estate. “At the moment there is a lot of real estate for sale but no buyers. We suggest that those who have the financial means should definitely buy,” he said. According to him, soon people will not be able to find homes that are of the same high quality and as suitable for a bank loan as those available today.

Aşa stated that prices increased from 2005 through mid-2006 due to intense demand as people seemed ready to buy whatever they saw fit. He said that if we are to live through such a period again, an increase or upward tendency in prices is only natural. According to Aşa, right now it is possible through bargaining to buy a home worth YTL 200,000 for YTL 150,000, but soon this will not be the case. Final prices are expected to be somewhere around those figures but should not exceed them.