TURKEY
Turkey straddles Asia & Europe.
On this page you can find summaries of AHI activities/ projects, weblogs/blog posts, and external resources.
Activities - Blogs - Resources
2008, June, Istanbul
8th Turkish Real Estate Summit 8
Activities: Presentation
AHI was commisoned by the Turkish non-governmental organization GYODER to conduct a study of the affordable housing sector in Turkey. David Smith was invited to present the conclusions of this Housing Country Assessment Report at the Eighth Turkish Real Estate Summit (reported in Europe RE), where he emphasized that:
- Turkey has to improve its housing supply, quality, and affordability in order to promote competitiveness with Europe and the Americas.
- Turkey should emphasize urban development as this is where demand and future growth will occur.
- Government must shift from housing production to housing finance.
- A national gecekondu transformation pilot program built around demolition/rebuilding and earthquake-reinforcement needs to be created.
- Municipal governments should be allowed to obtain nationally owned lands for urban development
- Consumer earthquake-reinforcement loans to improve existing neighborhoods need to be developed.
- A rental housing association model for long-term affordable apartments should be created.
David was interviewed on CNN Turkey and his talk was reported widely in the press: Dunya (Turkish, English); Hurriyet (Turkish, Turkish PDF, English PDF), Referans (Turkish, English), Sabah (Turkish, English PDF).
The presentation is here. The Executive summary of the report in English is here, and in Turkish is here. The full report will be available soon.
2007, April, Istanbul
7th Turkish Real Estate Summit
Activities: Presentation
Invited to serve on a panel by the Turkish non-governmental organization GYODER, David Smith spoke on on the potential impact of the new mortgage law and on the urgent need to promote affordablehousing in Turkey. His presentation stressed that:
- Turkey would become a two-tiered society of wealthy owners and poor "own-nots" if the considerable housing affordability gap resulting from the booming real estate market were not addressed.
- Government must step up its financial committment to affordable housing.
- This would best be done in public-private partnership, because markets and government have complementary capacities and weaknesses.
- Government should adopt some form of credit enhancement, whether by mortgage insurance or other weaker forms, to cut interest rates immediately for a targeted group of borrowers, without necessarily spending public monies.
Donors as scaffolding: Part 1, need for startup capital
Affordable housing in Turkey: My talk at GYODER
Urbanization requires formalization: Part 1, the theory
Turkey: Part 5, what Tirkey can do for affordable housing
Turkey: Part 4, the great unspoken risk
Turkey: Part 3, affordability gap
Turkey: Part 1, national demand
Capital Markets Board of Turkey (SPK)
Has a pdf file of Law no. 2499, Capital Market Law.
Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKI)
Has an overview of the main principles underlying housing policy in Turkey and a pdf file of the Mass housing Law.
Turkish Real Estate Association (GYODER)
Asia - China - India - Sri Lanka
Europe - Italy - Ireland - United Kindom