Europe News Desk!! The real estate market has seen a boom since the massive earthquake that hit Turkey on 6 February. The demand for new earthquake-resistant homes has increased in major cities in the western regions, including Istanbul. Real estate agents said that land sales in Istanbul increased by 200 percent in March compared to the previous month, leading to an increase in prices. Real estate consultant Erdinç Sahin told Xinhua news agency that fear gripped Istanbulites after the earthquake. Sahin said that people’s concern has increased since the end of February, after the investigation started by Istanbul Municipality on the foundation of the houses and their structure. Investigation revealed that many old buildings in the city are not earthquake resistant. Vulnerable buildings in Istanbul are either being strengthened or demolished after the investigation, but according to Sahin, it is not easy to evacuate unsafe buildings.
He said that the demand for land is not only limited to Istanbul, but extends to the nearby Kocaeli province in the Marmara region and Kırklareli and Edirne in the Thrace region. In Sahin’s view, land sale prices increased by 40 percent in March. Dilek Ozcan, a retired health worker from Istanbul who could not afford to buy land in the city, moved to his rural hometown in Kırklareli. He told Xinhua that recently several close friends and former colleagues asked him about buying land in the surrounding villages. According to Ozcan, these friends want to build a small house as an additional place for shelter. Galip Olmez, CEO of Yako Groups, Turkey’s largest manufacturer of tiny houses, told Xinhua that their sales have increased by at least 80 percent since the February disaster.
–IANS
World News Desk!!
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