Turkey's Rents Skyrocket as Citizens Flee after Devastating Earthquake

Even before the February 6, 2023 earthquake, Turkey was in a difficult economic position with a real estate market under a great deal of pressure. Unfortunately, after the worst earthquake in a century, millions of people were displaced and had no choice but to relocate to other parts of the country and leave their old lives behind.  

The rapid relocation of so many people has led to a sharp increase in rent in neighboring provinces, not to mention the larger cities in the west of the country. TSKB Real Estate Appraisal Inc. recorded rent increases of up to 45 percent in a matter of weeks following the earthquake. This put more strain on people already reeling from the tragedy. 

By February 23, about 2.2 million people had left the 11 affected provinces. Wealthy people fled to suburbs away from fault lines that are perceived to be safe, including Beykoz in Istanbul and Urla in Izmir, which is situated along the Aegean Sea. Demand for both rental properties and purchases in neighborhoods far from fault lines has increased to the point that there simply are no properties left to meet the demand. As demand remains high and supply low, prices have started to spike, leaving many residents with few to no options. 

The Growing Pressure for Official Intervention 

Politicians are calling for government intervention to help prevent the situation from becoming even direr. For example, there has been a call to ban home sales to foreigners. Toward the end of 2022, foreign investment in homes started to surge, especially among Russians. This was driving up the cost of real estate to the point that few Turkish nationals could afford to participate.  

Another suggestion was to create rent caps based on property value to protect Turks who lost their homes. Even before the earthquake, average home rent had increased 177 percent year on year, which makes this latest spike that much more problematic. Rents are essentially tripled from what they were a little more than a year ago. 

Ankara, the capital of Turkey, also had to contend with a great deal of resident influx as a result of the earthquake. More than 205,000 people moved from disaster zones to Ankara, which is more than any other city in the country. This is at least partly because Ankara is the safest of all the large cities in Turkey in terms of seismic activity.  

In the few weeks after the initial earthquake, rents in Ankara increased by 60 percent. Some landlords doubled the rent they were asking for units overnight. For people who survived the earthquake, this sticker shock was almost as disorienting as the initial event, especially after they believed they would see some leniency due to the circumstances. Unfortunately, real estate agents had no sympathy for survivors. Many people have been left seeking out the few landlords who are offering free housing for individuals fleeing from the disaster.  

Earthquake Refugees Face Mounting Housing Hurdles 

Of course, the Turkish government is trying to help people affected by the disaster. However, government-provided rent assistance is fixed and does not come close to covering the cost of housing in most places in the country. Turkey has pledged to build new homes for survivors, but it will take at least a year before families can start moving into the units. To put the situation in context, residents are hard-pressed to find an apartment for 6,000 lira a month, whereas a decent place would have cost between 3,000 and 4,000 lira in January. Making matters worse, half the workforce in the country earns minimum wage, which amounts to 8,500 lira monthly. For those looking for a more upscale apartment, rents approach 17,000 or more per month. 

Regardless, the major issue is that people fleeing the earthquake have no jobs and no income after losing everything during the disaster. Because of this, many people almost immediately fled Ankara for more affordable locations, such as Manisa in Western Turkey. The other option is sharing an apartment, which makes for cramped quarters and inferior quality of life. At the same time, even getting to the point of sharing an apartment with another family is not a possibility. Landlords have been increasing their requirements to the extent that apartments are simply not attainable for many people. Demands of security deposits and commissions push the final price tag even higher. Also, some landlords have begun to require public servants as guarantors, which is impossible for people coming to an unfamiliar city from a disaster zone.