Three Istanbul Streets Make World's Top 10 For Rent Hikes İn 2014

According to data in the annual real estate report of international real estate consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield, Istanbul's İstiklal Avenue, Bağdat Avenue and Abdi İpekçi Avenue ranked in the top 10 streets for rent increases in the world.

İstiklal Avenue saw the world's second-highest rent increases, while Bağdat Avenue was sixth-highest and Abdi İpekçi Avenue was tenth-highest, according to the Cushman & Wakefield report, titled "Main Streets Across the World."

The report also included information on the transaction volumes and rent increases on these three avenues.

According to the report, a total of 17,500 square meters were rented on these three streets over the course of last year. Rents on İstiklal Avenue and Abdi İpekçi Avenue, both on the European side, and Bağdat Avenue on the Asian side, increased by 27.3 percent, 20.9 percent and 24.4 percent, respectively.

İstiklal Avenue showed the highest growth in the EMEA region, while Bağdat Avenue was third-highest and Abdi İpekçi Avenue was fifth-highest.

While Abdi İpekçi Avenue is generally host to luxury brands, İstiklal Avenue hosts national and international brands at all income levels. Bağdat Avenue also hosts a mixture of local and global brands for each income level, according to the report.

Overall, Union Square in San Francisco showed the highest increase in the world, with 30 percent growth, according to the report.

56 pct rise in house sales to foreigners

Data in a separate Cushman & Wakefield report focusing on the Turkish real estate market also revealed that a total of 1.16 million residences had been sold by the end of 2014, corresponding to a 2 percent increase from last year. A total of 34 percent of residence sales involved taking out a mortgage, and there was a 56 percent increase in sales to foreigners, amounting to a total of 18,959 residences.

The report, titled "General 2014 Assessment for Turkish Real Estate Sector," also said the number of investments in 2014 climbed to 275 hotels in 57 municipalities, and the number of available beds increased by 73,000 units.

The total number of visitors to Turkey was 36.8 million, an increase of 5.5 percent from last year, with Istanbul drawing the most at 11.8 million. Although the number of people visiting Istanbul increased by 12 percent, its hotel occupancy rate actually dropped to 65 percent, the report said.

Cushman & Wakefield also predicted that around 2.3 million square meters of new mall area would be opened in Turkey over the next three years.

It said it expected the opening of new malls in several provinces that currently do not have any malls, including in the eastern province of Van and the Central Anatolian province of Yozgat.

(PHOTO) - Istanbul

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