Trends in housing markets during the economic crisis and Covid-19 pandemic: Turkish case

Abstract

The recent global economic crisis and pandemic have shown that housing markets are highly exposed to the prevailing economic and social circumstances. Relevant literature indicates that housing output and transaction volumes were negatively affected during the Covid-19 pandemic. In contrast, price levels displayed variations under different circumstances shaped by demand shifts. Housing affordability conditions also deteriorated and household budgets were squeezed by the high housing cost burden due to the loss of livelihood and increased time spent at home during lockdowns. In the Turkish case, a severe economic crisis in 2018/19 preceded the Covid-19 pandemic. Housing output, housing prices, and the unemployment rate were much more affected by the economic crisis than by the pandemic. Spatial variation in the changes in the supply level was not homogeneous throughout the country. Lower supply levels were observed in the southern and south-eastern parts of the country and the major employment centres. However, compared to the international tendencies, total demand for housing increased, raising the housing transaction volume to record-high levels. In addition, housing prices during the pandemic skyrocketed, accompanied by increasing inflation rates. Furthermore, a demand shift towards single-family houses was observed, and the price gap between single-family houses and flats has widened since the pandemic began. The investment function of housing became prominent once again for wealthier households during the high inflation periods observed during the pandemic. The major conclusion drawn from this study is that the housing market deepened the existing inequalities in society during the current pandemic.

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on private rental housing prices in Turkey

“…4 ) are examined mutually, there is no parallelism. According to Aksoy Khurami and Özdemir Sarı ( 2022 ), the economic crisis in 2018/19 had a more negative impact on housing markets than the pandemic. Similarly, it is estimated that the rent increases experienced in this period may be due to the long-term effects of the 2018/19 crisis.…”

Konut İşlem Haci̇mleri̇ Araciliğiyla Konut Pi̇yasasinin Mekansal Anali̇zi̇: Menteşe, Muğla

“…Housing transaction is also a tactic to heat markets. As Aksoy Khurami and Özdemir Sarı (2022) stated, the number of new annual housing plunged under the growing numbers of households in 2019, and the balance slightly slid in favour of new households between 2020 and 2021. Through the focus of cities in Türkiye, calculations regarding annual housing production per added household between 2018 and 2021 have shown clues on who has the housing transactions.…”

“…Muğla, the focus of this study, is evaluated in the oversupply category (Aksoy Khurami and Özdemir Sarı, 2022). Also, Muğla is one of the four cities that level of construction is at the edge of meeting the demands due to the increasing number of households between 2000-2014.…”

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Investment Management in the Housing Market in Turkey

“…During the pandemic, instead of supporting those who were struggling to pay their rent, support was given to landlords (Blakeley, 2021). Although different policies were implemented in different countries, no special support was provided to those most affected by the pandemic in the residential market in Turkey (Aksoy Khurami and Özdemir Sarı, 2022).…”