Figures from the second quarter of 2009 revealed that 79 percent more houses were sold in Turkey compared to the previous quarter and that the ownership of 194,743 houses changed hands in the April-July period.
The highest rate of increase in house sales was in the region labeled TRA2, which included the eastern Anatolian cities of Kars, Ağrı, Iğdır and Ardahan. The number of houses sold in this region rose by a hefty 231.38 percent in the second quarter over the previous period.
The TRC3 region, which embodies the southeastern cities of Mardin, Batman, Şırnak and Siirt, came in second in terms of the highest increase in housing market activity with 156.75 percent. The TRC2 region, comprising Şanlıurfa and Diyarbakır, followed, registering a 123.08 percent increase.
The fourth region, TRB2, was also from the relatively undeveloped part of Anatolia, covering Van and Muş, Bitlis and Hakkari. This region enjoyed a 119.57 percent increase in the housing market in the second quarter. İstanbul alone constitutes region TR10 and ranked fifth with a 118.12 percent hike in house sales.
The second quarter of 2009 saw no region with a decrease in house sales compared to the previous period.
The rates of house sales were also positive in the second quarter compared to the same quarter of last year. The figure showed an increase of 72.2 percent compared to the second quarter of 2008. Again, no single region suffered a decrease in house sales in the second quarter when compared to the previous year.
