After the over YTL 100 million difference between tax estimates and tax declaration on all real estate in Turkey, bank accounts that have numerous deposits from abroad were put under close scrutiny. It was suspected 10 to 15 foreign groups were making periodic payments to certain people’s bank accounts. When the bank account transactions and property holdings matched, it was suspected some of the accounts that the payments made belonged to contractors. Tax authorities said that some of the contractors in tourist regions presented housing sales receipts much lower than their real value, claiming they made cash payments. They stated that they suspected that the contractors had deceived them to avoid paying taxes. An official who wanted to remain anonymous said approval for property holding sales to foreigners should be obtained from the National Defense Ministry and General Staff.
He said contractors produced sales receipts that were only half the value of the housing or property, telling the buyer to pay the remaining amount through their bank account. Buyers had to pay off the house through installments before they could get their property certificate, the official said.
According to the Property and Land Registration Administration data, 68,248 foreigners from 71 different countries own property in Turkey. The area totals 181.2 square kilometers. Approximately 150 square kilometers of it belongs to Syrians. However no land has been sold to Syrians since the joining of the province of Hatay -- an appendage of Turkey that dips into Syria along the Mediterranean coast -- to Turkey in 1939 through a referendum.
The lands that belonged to Syrians were confiscated by the Turkish Treasury in 1966 and have been managed by the Finance Ministry National Real Estate Administration since.
$7 billion in real estate sold in four years
Bureaucratic obstacles in front of foreigners are being reduced. Property and Land Registration Administration General Manager Zeki Adlı said that when selling land to a foreigner they used to asked the National Defense Ministry whether the land had strategic importance but now they share information with defense ministry about land that has military strategic importance so that they do not have to receive permission from local commanders every time there is a sale.
Real estate sales to foreigners last year increased by 59 percent to $2.9 billion compared to 2005. Property sales in the last four years to foreigners ware $7.2 billion. Of all land belonging to foreigners, 88 percent is located in 10 cities. The cities with most foreign-owned property are Antalya (14,610), İstanbul (10,695), Muğla (8,251), Aydın (5,839), İzmir (4,572), Bursa (4,310), Hatay (3,582), Mersin (1,740), Ankara (1,034) and Gaziantep (1,013).
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