Buying citizenship: A boon to district-level house prices in Istanbul

Gunduz, Lokman and Genc, Ismail H. and Aysan, Ahmet Faruk (2021): Buying citizenship: A boon to district-level house prices in Istanbul.

Abstract

Citizenship by investment (CBI) programs have recently garnered significant academic and media attention. Turkey introduced such a program in 2017 that offers citizenship in exchange for investment in residential property. Eventually, thousands of foreigners, mainly from the Middle East and Asia have purchased houses, particularly in Istanbul. Foreigners’ share in total houses sold in Istanbul almost sextupled and exceeded 10 percent of total sales. This study estimates the short-run impact of relatively wealthy foreigners on the residential property prices in Istanbul to buy a Turkish passport. It finds that the Turkish CBI program positively impacts house prices by two percent in the districts, which are likely to be favored most by immigrant investors.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Citizenship by investment program; house prices; immigration; Istanbul
• Subjects: A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O15 - Human Resources ; Human Development ; Income Distribution ; Migration

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