Looking for a Real estate Agent in Turkey? Read This First
Do you wonder how to find a good real estate agent in Turkey? I’ve bought eight properties in Turkey. In this article, I will show you my own strategy and how I found the agents for all my real estate in Turkey.
All information in this article and more is also included in my YouTube video:
Overview ‘Finding a Good Real Estate Agent in Turkey’
Finding a good real estate agent in Turkey, and actually anywhere, is very difficult. I’ll explain what motivates real estate agents and how you can find your dream property in Turkey along three points:
- How real estate agents operate in Turkey?
- Perspective from a buyer
- How to find your dream property in Turkey?
1) How real estate agents operate in Turkey ?
Let me first explain how real estate agents operate in Turkey. The vast majority of agents are focused on a specific neighborhood. Most agents also prefer to represent sellers in the first place.
Imagine a property (cf. picture) in Istanbul Besiktas. The seller agrees with the real estate agent in Besiktas to become his representing agent. The agent will then start advertising this real estate in Turkey.
Let’s assume a buyer approaches the agent and wants to buy the property. Then the representing agent would earn up to 2% + VAT from the buyer and also up to 2% + VAT from the seller (situation depicted on picture).
Now, let’s assume a slightly different scenario. We have the same situation, but the buyer also has his own agent. These are called buyer’s agents. In this case, the representing agent of the seller gets up to 2% + VAT only from the seller. The buyer also pays his own buyer’s agent up to 2% + VAT.
So overall it is much more lucrative for agents to represent sellers. In the first scenario, the representing agent earns up to 4%. But buyer’s agents can only earn up to 2%.
However you also have to keep in mind: Agents who are part of a real estate agency often split the com mission 50/50 with the agency owner.
2) Perspective from a buyer
Now, let’s look at it from the perspective of a buyer. Let’s say you want to buy a property in Istanbul. You approach an agent in Besiktas. The agent will try to sell you one of the properties in his portfolio in Besiktas. In that case, the agent would earn up to 4%. This agent has no financial incentive to help you find a property outside his portfolio.
If this agent became your buyer’s agent, he would only earn 2%. So this agent prefers selling the properties in his own portfolio.
How to find your dream property in Turkey ?
So how do you find your dream property in Turkey? The successful strategy I used to buy my own properties was this: I did not work with agents at the beginning of my search. Instead, I focused on finding my favorite cities and neighbourhoods. As a result, I ended up working with a different real estate agent for each property I’ve bought in Turkey.
In summary, I do not recommend working with an agent right away. Instead focus most of your effort on finding the exact location where you want to buy real estate in Turkey.
Where to Buy Property in Turkey ?
If you want to learn how to find your dream property in Turkey, and which cities I recommend for foreigners, then watch this full guide here.
You can explore other articles about Istanbul by clicking on one of the following categories: