Turkey Earthquake and Its Effect on the Real Estate Market

On February 6, 2023, an earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck the western Turkish city of Kahramanmaras at 4:17 am, followed by another nine hours later, at 1:24 pm A 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit the city of Kahramanmaraş, also in southern Turkey.

The two earthquakes affected 10 different cities in southern Turkey and some cities in northern Syria. So far, more than 40,000 people have died and more than 100,000 have been injured.

With more than 12,000 buildings collapsed in Turkey, many questions arise about the logic of how this natural disaster occurred

• Why is the intensity of the earthquake so great that these buildings collapsed, but it has not yet reached the point of destroying these buildings in an instant?
• Many newly built buildings also collapsed. What is the reason?
• What are the real safeguards for protecting buildings from earthquakes?
• Will the demand for real estate in Turkey increase or decrease?
• What is the current situation in Istanbul and its real estate prices?

Let's first define the types of buildings available in these areas:

We have old buildings, some of which are more than 20 years old, and some buildings have no more than 5 floors. They were not originally designed to resist earthquakes, so a large proportion of them collapsed.

Additionally, our building is less than 20 years old, was built by a contractor with limited commercial activity, they are also not earthquake resistant, and we can see from the image below that the building did not have a proper foundation to begin with.

We noticed that the surrounding buildings were not affected by the earthquake or the collapse of this building.

Parts of modern complexes built by developers of medium commercial activity, although they exist near solid old buildings, have completely collapsed.
This is mainly due to the fact that these buildings are constructed with the best materials as people pay more attention to form than to content.

We all know that buildings are made of walls and columns,

But walls are not considered as core elements supporting the weight of a building, as they can be removed and property redistributed without compromising the safety of the building with the use of suitable materials.

The pillars are responsible for supporting the building, and the amount of steel used in the pillars is the main factor in ensuring the earthquake resistance of the building.

Steel is a high priced commodity, especially after Covid-19 where the price of steel has multiplied in a very short period of time.

Regardless, people are still looking for cheap real estate.

So real estate developers build cheap properties that use as little steel as possible for their own benefit at the expense of people's safety.

New buildings from reputable developers may not be able to fill due to natural disasters, especially earthquakes below 9 on the Richter scale.

Evidence of this is that state-owned construction company Toki built more than 133,000 houses in 10 Turkish cities affected by the earthquake, none of which collapsed or were destroyed.

The only guarantee today is that you choose a reliable real estate developer (not necessarily a guarantee from the Turkish government).

By getting free advice from our team, you will learn about the most important and trusted real estate developers on the market.

Will the demand in the Turkish real estate market increase or decrease?

Foreign investors would expect demand to drop as those who want to own real estate fear another earthquake will hit a certain Turkish city later.

In reality, however, this perception is wrong, as the proportion of foreigners owning real estate in Turkey does not exceed 3% compared to local demand.

o even if all foreigners decided to stop buying properties in Turkey, the number of properties sold would only decrease by 3%

It is imperative for a local citizen to own a property in his country, today he will choose his next property wisely and after doing thorough research on the developer, he will not be caught by an unknown contractor Tempted by a discounted price, buying a proven property sooner or later puts the lives of residents at risk.

Now let's talk about Istanbul, as it is the first and almost the only destination for those looking to invest in real estate in Turkey.

The epicenter of the earthquake was 1,100 kilometers from Istanbul, which is quite a distance. So if you visit your acquaintances in Istanbul, they will tell you that we don't feel anything at all.

In fact, if you are an investor buying a property from a developer with a good reputation in the market, of course with the advice of a trusted professional agent, you need not worry. In Istanbul, all new buildings under construction will not receive planning permission until they meet the conditions of "Dask" earthquake insurance, which qualifies buildings to withstand earthquakes up to 9 degrees on the Richter scale.

It can be said that 80% of this disaster could have been avoided if only reliable construction companies that had proven themselves over the years had taken responsibility.

From an investment point of view, the rental yield of earthquake-resistant houses is much higher than that of old or non-earthquake-resistant houses, because today tenants will pay more attention to their own safety.

Thanks to reliable builders offering installment or easy payment offers, you can now own a property in Istanbul from a good developer without buying an old property or buying from a new developer with a bad reputation.