Türkiye leads OECD in housing price hikes with unprecedented surge

Türkiye emerged as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) leader in housing price increases, witnessing extraordinary growth over the past nine years, as when indexed at 100 in 2015, housing prices skyrocketed to 1,740.7 by the third quarter of 2024.

According to the OECD’s housing price data, it accounts for a staggering nominal increase of 1,640.7% (16.4-fold) in average housing prices during this period. Similarly, the rent index surged from 100 to 949.4, marking an 849.4% (8.5-fold) rise over the same timeframe.

In real terms, a house priced at ₺500,000 ($171,039) at the end of 2015 now costs ₺8.7 million ($245,083), while a property previously valued at ₺1 million has escalated to ₺17.4 million.

Rental prices followed suit; a house rented for ₺2,500 in 2015 now demands ₺23,700, while one with a ₺5,000 rent has soared to ₺47,500.

Housing prices in Türkiye unprecedentedly surge

According to data compiled by business-focused dunya.com, housing prices in Türkiye outpaced global trends to an unprecedented degree, far exceeding the OECD average increase of 84% and the Eurozone’s 44.4% over the same period, with a surge nearly 19.5 times the OECD average.

According to OECD data:

• Iceland recorded a 154% (1.5-fold) increase, far behind Türkiye.
• Lithuania followed with a 136% increase.
• Portugal saw a rise of 127.8%.
• Czechia recorded a 123% increase.
• Estonia experienced a 112% increase.
• The United States saw a 97.5% increase, placing it among the top ten countries for housing price growth.
• Housing price increases in other countries ranged between 10% and 85%.

While rents in Türkiye nearly doubled over nine years, no OECD country experienced a cumulative rental increase exceeding 100%. Hungary, Türkiye’s closest follower, recorded an 88.2% rise, falling short of doubling.

• Countries such as Lithuania (77.1%), Slovenia (71.9%), Ireland (68.3%), and Poland (67.6%) saw relatively high rental increases. The U.S. recorded a 47.7% rise, while Japan was the only country to experience a decline in rents (-0.3%).
• Among countries with minimal increases, Italy (8.7%), South Korea (8.6%), France (7.5%), and Greece (3.5%) showed the lowest growth in cumulative rent over the period.

Pandemic-era boom

Housing and rental prices in Türkiye have surged dramatically since the second half of 2021, driven by internal migration, an influx of refugees, and increased foreign demand during the pandemic, with the trend accelerating further in early 2022.

Between 2015 and 2021, housing prices grew by 140.5%, while rents increased by 172.6%. From 2022 to 2024, these figures climbed even more sharply, with housing prices increasing by 624% (6.2-fold) and rents by 450% (4.5-fold).

Contributing factors include heightened foreign demand for rental properties and skyrocketing loan interest rates since mid-2023, which made homeownership increasingly unaffordable, further fueling rental demand.