Istanbul real estate market — prices, rental yield and trend
- Average price: $1,338 / m²
- Gross rental yield: 8.42%
- 12-month price change (USD): 8%
- Net rental yield: 6.87%
- Transaction cost: 8.7%
- Bubble-risk band: moderate
- Price basis: local-market average
Residential property in Istanbul averages $1,338 per square metre, +8% in dollar terms over the last twelve months. That makes it the 77th most expensive of the 83 markets in the set. In local currency the same twelve months read +27.7%; the 19.7-point gap is the exchange rate, not the housing market.
What a buyer pays in Istanbul
The $1,338 figure is a local-market average across all residential property types: a flat in a prime district sits well above it, an older unit on the edge of the market well below. Buying costs — transfer tax or stamp duty, notary, registration and agency — come to about 8.7% of the price here. On a 100 m² apartment at the average price that is roughly $11,637 on top of the $133,760 purchase price. That is below the 10.2% median across the set, which shortens the time it takes for a purchase to break even. Against the Turkey national average of $928, Istanbul carries a 44.2% premium — the gap between this market and the country as a whole.
What it earns
A square metre lets for about $9.4 a month. Against a purchase price of $1,338 per square metre that is 8.4% gross, before tax. Both figures come from the same source and the same period, so you can check the arithmetic yourself. It ranks 9th of 88 markets by gross yield. Rental income is taxed at 14–22.8% — the rate is not a single number here. That is the difference between 6.5% and 7.2% net on the same property. The 6.9% net figure we publish uses 18.4%.
How the tax works. Progressive: non-residents also get the residential letting exemption of GVK art. 21 (TRY 58,000 in 2026) and the 15% lump-sum expense deduction of art. 74/3, followed by the art. 103 income-tax scale, which gives 14–23% across typical rent levels. The exemption is lost entirely once gross rent exceeds TRY 1.5 million a year (about USD 2,650 a month), which is why the upper end is higher, and the lira's weakness makes that point exchange-rate sensitive. With a private tenant there is no withholding; the annual return is final. Source: gib.gov.tr.
Where the price sits against its own history
Prices are +89.4% over five years and +13.8% over ten in local terms. Glopra’s bubble-risk score for Istanbul is 57 out of 100 — moderate risk. Of the 58 markets scored, 32 read higher.
Istanbul house price index, 2016–2023 (2016 = 100)
| Year | Index |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 100 |
| 2017 | 108.2 |
| 2018 | 111.1 |
| 2019 | 109.8 |
| 2020 | 131 |
| 2021 | 176 |
| 2022 | 476.7 |
| 2023 | 894.2 |
Rebased to 100 in 2016, the index stands at 894.2 in 2023. The series is in local currency, and the twelve-month numbers above show how much of that a dollar buyer actually keeps.
Who can buy in Istanbul
Full ownership; reciprocity and military-zone check. That is the rule a foreign buyer meets first, not legal advice — check the current position locally before you commit.
How this figure is built
The price figure for Istanbul is built from asking prices from listings. It was last refreshed on 2026-09-28. We rate our confidence in this market’s data medium: the series is usable, but thinner or less current than our best-covered markets. We recompute every market the same way, which is what lets Istanbul be compared with a country average or another city.
Sources: Endeksa/Emlakjet 2026-05 · emlakjet.com · tcmb.gov.tr · airbtics.com. Snapshot: 2026-09-28.
Latest Istanbul market analysis
- Turkey Puts 383 Public Land Plots in 46 Provinces Up for Auction — 2026-09-29
- Turkey's TOKI Opens a 25% Discount on Housing Debt for About 228,000 Buyers — 2026-09-19
- Istanbul opens applications for 1,071 state rental flats from 10,000 lira a month — 2026-09-14
- Turkey Holds Policy Rate at 37% for a Fifth Meeting as Real House Prices Keep Falling — 2026-09-11
- Turkish Builders Filed for 9.5% Fewer Homes in Q2 While Completions Accelerated — 2026-08-21
- Turkish Home Prices Rose 25% in a Year but Lost 5.1% in Real Terms — 2026-08-19
- Turkish Home Sales Fell 17% in July While Mortgage-Backed Purchases Jumped 24% — 2026-08-14
- Turkey Property Taxes and Buying Costs for Foreign Buyers (2026) — 2026-08-03
- Turkey Property Market: Prices, Yields and the Lira Gap in 2026 — 2026-07-03
- Turkey's Property Market in 2026: The Nominal Illusion Behind the Numbers — 2026-07-03
- Turkey: Foreign Property Ownership and the Buying Process, Gate by Gate — 2026-07-03
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