Economists are expressing concern about an impending housing crisis in Turkey as the price of real estate soars, the Birgün daily reported.
According to a recent report by the Bahçeşehir University Center for Economic and Social Research (BETAM), there was an 89.1 percent increase in property prices from May 2022 to May 2023. These numbers contradicted data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), which said real estate prices had increased by only 20.7 percent in the same timeframe.
Gökçe Gökçen, a deputy from the Republican People’s Party (CHP), criticized TurkStat for allegedly spreading false numbers and “tricking” the public.
TurkStat, which is the Turkish government agency commissioned with producing official statistics, has been subject to criticism before for publishing false figures and lower inflation rates than other private statistical institutions.
The housing crisis has already hit vulnerable members of society such as university students. Last year, hundreds of students took to the streets to protests soaring rent prices.
Real estate agents said the housing crisis would only get worse and that they did not see it being resolved in the near future.
Over the past several years Turkey has been suffering from a deteriorating economy, with high inflation and unemployment as well as a poor human rights record. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is criticized for mishandling the economy, emptying the state’s coffers and establishing one-man rule in the country where dissent is suppressed and opponents are jailed on politically motivated charges.
A staggeringly high cost of living has become the new normal in Turkey, where recent increases in food and utility prices are pushing up inflation, further crippling the purchasing power of citizens.
