Housing prices soar in earthquake-hit provinces

Turkish citizens rebuilding their lives after the devastating Feb. 6 earthquakes have faced the serious problem of rising housing costs.

A survey by Endeksa, a real estate valuation platform, reveals that house prices and rents in earthquake-affected provinces are rising faster than the national average.

The earthquake significantly reduced the available housing supply in the region, while displaced residents migrated to nearby provinces, further tightening the market. Endeksa's report shows that while house prices across Türkiye increased by 57 percent between March 2023 and March 2024, seven of the 11 earthquake-affected provinces saw even steeper increases.

Southern provinces Hatay and Kilis witnessed a staggering 84 percent annual spike, with Elazığ following closely at 75 percent. The average price per square meter in these 11 provinces currently ranges from 13,000 to 19,000 Turkish Lira, with average home prices hovering between 1.8 and 3 million liras.

The rent increase in March was 61 percent. Among the provinces affected by the earthquake, annual rent increases were 224 percent in Elazığ, 154 percent in Şanlıurfa, and 144 percent in Kilis and Osmaniye. In the 11 provinces, average rental prices vary between 9,500 and 14,000 liras.

Türkiye's major cities - Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir - also experienced significant rent increases. Annual rent hikes reached 58 percent in Istanbul, 81 percent in the capital Ankara and a staggering 84 percent in the western province of İzmir.

Following the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes that claimed the lives of more than 53,000 people and caused massive destruction in several regions, the 11 southern provinces were previously declared disaster zones.