Residential Rent Increase in Istanbul is Clear While Falling Across Türkiye

DUYGU ERDOĞAN - While there is a real relaxation in housing rents throughout Türkiye, on the contrary, the price increase is becoming evident in Istanbul. The average housing rent across Türkiye decreased by 7 percent in real terms on an annual basis and reached 28 thousand liras; In Istanbul, the rental rate increased by 10 percent in the same period, exceeding 45 thousand liras on average. It is expected that the 'social housing for rent' application will have a significant impact against the high rental prices in Istanbul, and a decrease in regional prices will be noticed in the coming months.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that the social housing for rent campaign will start in Istanbul within the scope of the Housing Project of the Century with the slogan 'Home Owner Türkiye', where 500 thousand social housing will be built in 81 provinces. 15 thousand social housing units in Istanbul will be rented for low-income citizens with a system that will be implemented for the first time in Turkey. In the first stage, applications for the rental of 1071 houses started on Monday. These residences will be delivered in October. Four different housing types from 1+1 to 4+1; It will be rented at a price between 10 thousand lira and 18 thousand lira, which is quite low compared to the regional prices. The first rentals in Istanbul will be made in Ataşehir, Sancaktepe, Ümraniye, Üsküdar, Maltepe, Tuzla, Kartal, Başakşehir, Gaziosmanpaşa, Güngören and Arnavutköy.

He had a falling out with Türkiye

The divergence between Türkiye in general and Istanbul in the rental housing market became evident in August. The August 2026 Rent Report prepared by Emlakjet with Endeksa data revealed that rent increases across Türkiye remained below inflation, while rents in Istanbul also increased in real terms. The average rent in Istanbul is 62.3 percent above the average of 28 thousand lira in Türkiye. Thus, Istanbul became the only city among the five major cities that recorded an annual real rent increase.

As of August 2026, the city with the highest average housing rent was Istanbul with 45 thousand 510 TL. Istanbul was followed by Muğla with 40 thousand 940 TL, Ankara with 34 thousand 440 TL, Izmir with 33 thousand 369 TL and Antalya with 29 thousand 306 TL. In Bursa, the average housing rent was calculated as 24 thousand 207 TL. According to inflation-adjusted data, rents decreased by 8.5 percent in Ankara, 9.4 percent in Izmir, 5.7 percent in Antalya and 10.8 percent in Bursa on an annual basis. Thus, Istanbul was the only city among the five major cities that recorded an annual real rent increase.

'There will be no housing concerns'

Applications for 1071 social rental housing started on September 14 and will continue until September 25. The draw and delivery will begin in October. No application fee will be charged. Applications will be made via e-Government, from the "Housing / Workplace Application" service menu, which is among the services of the Mass Housing Administration.

Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum, regarding the social housing rental campaign to be implemented in Istanbul, said, "Together with our President, we will deliver the keys of our first 1071 rental houses in October. With this step, we will hopefully further reduce the rental prices, which are already on a downward trend. We will continue to work tirelessly for a Turkey where no one has housing concerns and homes are filled with peace."