My Take On Turkey

Kathleen and I just came back from a scouting trip to Turkey, where we put boots on the ground to assess its lifestyle and investment potential.

We have a long history in Turkey. We spent our honeymoon here over 25 years ago, so we were excited to return to it. It’s a beautiful country that’s rich in history and culture. It’s a great place to be a tourist, with plenty of sight-seeing opportunities.

The focus of our trip was the Turquoise Coast, also known as the Turkish Riviera, found in the southwest. We started in Izmir and then went south to Kuşadası, which is a coastal town near the ancient city of Ephesus. From there we went to Bodrum, Bodrum to Dalyan, Dalyan to Kalkan, and Kalkan to Kas before ending our trip in Antalya.

We’d heard great things about the Turquoise Coast—that it’s naturally beautiful, it has affordable property, and it’s rising in popularity, all of which can combine to create a lucrative market for property investors.

That said, I did not come away with a positive opinion of it.

The property prices didn’t make sense for what’s available. The asking price for a three-bedroom villa I looked at in Kalkan, for instance, was 600,000 pounds. (Most property is priced in British pounds here.)

This is beyond unreasonable considering the quality of construction and infrastructure.

My guess is that the influx of Russian tourists is propping up prices right now. Turkey is one of the few countries that they can travel to visa-free, so there’s a big tourism industry for Russians here.

Inventory also seemed to be limited, although it’s certainly a touristy place. We were there towards the end of high season, but, still, traffic was bad, and there were crowds everywhere.

In Bodrum, cookie-cutter development is creeping up the hillsides and ruining the aesthetics of the place. From a planning point of view, things didn’t look good either.

Road access to certain hillside developments may have been an afterthought. In some cases, roads looked to be at 45-degree angles. I can’t imagine how other infrastructure (water, sewage, etc.) was installed.

Why buy a 600,000-pound property on the Turquoise Coast when you can find something with an ocean view in a great location in Spain for cheaper?

The Turquoise Coast is more expensive, farther away for North Americans, and the risk factor (both political and financial) is much higher. Turkey is suffering from high inflation, currency depreciation, and high external debt, among other issues.

Inflation was so bad that at one point this summer, locals and tourists were going over to neighboring Greece to buy groceries and have dinner because the savings opportunity was so great.

Inflation (currently at 52%) is forecast to drop by the end of this year and in early 2025, but right now, Turkey doesn’t even have a low cost of living going for it.

So, the Turquoise Coast is not an area that I recommend for real estate investment… maybe not even for lifestyle. But I haven’t closed the door on Turkey completely.

My local real estate contact told me about an area east of Antalya that’s still affordable. I’ll check it out on my next trip. I’m also interested in the north coast and the Black Sea Region.

Greece has been on my radar for a while. Foreign demand for Greek real estate continues to rise alongside property prices. I’ll take a closer look at Crete and other destinations that are within striking distance of Athens.

But the main takeaway from my trip to Turkey, however, is that it reaffirmed my stance on Northern Cyprus. It’s my #1 property market in the world right now.

Northern Cyprus is an area of the Republic of Cyprus. It lies just 160 miles southeast of Antalya, so it enjoys the same warm temperatures and beautiful scenery, including fantastic beaches with clear waters. It’s also rich in history and culture, as it sits at the crossroads of several important civilizations.

But Northern Cyprus is also different in important ways. English is more widely spoken for one thing, and it has a bigger expat community. It’s also stable and feels safer, known for its exceptionally low crime rates.

Most importantly, property is much more affordable compared to the Turquoise Coast.

If you were at my Northern Cyprus Spotlight Event last week, you’ll have heard about the luxury beach resort homes that my contacts on the ground (real estate insiders with a long track record of success and completed projects) are offering for just 75,500 pounds (about $100,000).

The reason prices are so low is because they’re in a yet-undeveloped area of the island. My contacts have identified an emerging coastal destination with rare empty beachfront. The Path of Progress is barreling in this direction and about to transform everything.

I expect property values on this last stretch of undeveloped coastline to do what they did in the other two areas of Northern Cyprus I’ve recommended for investment: double, or maybe even triple.

I saw this play out in Iskele, a relatively undeveloped destination along the east coast of Northern Cyprus, after I recommended it in 2019. It was poised to boom and became a Mediterranean hot spot not long after. Readers who invested back then saw their properties double in value.

Even my own property on the north coast of Northern Cyprus has skyrocketed in value, appreciating by over 100% in less than five years.

So I’m excited about this next big opportunity on Northern Cyprus’s yet-to-be-developed west coast. And the deal that my contacts are offering is exceptional.

It’s a condo for $100,000 in a luxury Mediterranean beach resort. The resort will be rich in amenities, including landscaped parks and gardens, restaurants, a wine bar, a gym, and a choice of indoor and outdoor pools…

It will also have a private marina, the first of its kind in this area, and a world-class wellness and spa center.

While normally a cash payment would be required for this type of purchase, my contacts are offering a financing deal that lets you buy with just 35% down and 0% interest monthly payments. On top of this, on-site rental management is in place, making this a fully turn-key opportunity, and the projected ROI is a healthy 10%.

The Spotlight Event breaking down all details of this opportunity was last week, and responses from attendees are coming in fast. Get in touch today to find out more about these $100k beach properties.

Stay diversified,

Lief Simon

Editor, Simon Letter