In September, 1,276 homes were sold to foreigners in Turkey. Among the top five foreign buyers were three Arab nationalities: Iraqis, Saudis and Kuwaitis. The non-Arabs were the Russians and the British. Together, these five nationalities bought half of the real estate sold to foreigners, according to official data. Similarly, in 2015, Arabs bought 45.9 percent of all real estate sold to foreigners in Turkey, dominating the top three once again. At first glance, all appears to be in order, and Turkey seems to be attracting a satisfactory amount of Arab capital.
But why do Syrians have no presence among foreign buyers?
Syrians represent about 3.5 percent of the Turkish population now. More importantly, according to the Directorate General of Migration Management statistics, some 90 percent of Turkey’s Syrians reside outside camps. So even considering the relative poverty of the Syrian refugee population, one would assume that their real estate acquisitions in Turkey would at least show up in numbers. But they do not, due to a legal impediment. Article 35 Clause 2 of Turkey’s Law on Property No. 2644, issued in 1934, references other regulations and notes certain limitations with respect to foreigners acquiring property in the country. One of the referenced regulations single out Syrian nationals and prohibit them from owning real estate in Turkey.