Russian citizens top foreign house buyers in Turkey in April

Turkish house sales to foreigners increased by 58% in April compared to the same month of 2021, with Russian citizens topping the list, government data showed on Tuesday.
The increase comes amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Foreign demand remains high despite nearly 100% rise in average house prices in February, according to central bank.
In April, 6,447 foreigners bought apartments in Turkey, 1,152 of them going to Russians, according to Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat).
Compared to the previous month, the number of Turkish properties sold to Russians rose over 100%. The increase was 186% year-on-year, according to TurkStat.
Ukrainians separately registered a 56% monthly rise in house purchases in April.
Iranian citizens followed with 905 and Iraqis with 714 house purchases in Turkey in April respectively, data showed.
Overall, Turkish house sales rose 38.8% in April year-on-year, TurkStat said.
Turkish Mediterranean tourism hotspots, including Antalya and Bodrum, recently reported a significant rise in property sales to Russians since the start of the war.
Ankara has not yet made public how many Russians arrived in Turkey since the beginning of the war.