Where do travellers want to visit next year? According to the leading guidebook publisher and travel website Frommers, 51% of readers quizzed about their top destinations to visit in 2012 voted in favour of Turkey.

Amongst a list of 10 destinations compiled by Frommers, Turkey was announced as the reader’s top destination to visit in 2012, despite being up against strong contenders such as Paris, Italy and Hawaii.

Described as a Frommers ‘favourite’ since the publication of Turkey on $5 a Day in 1971, the nation’s economic powerhouse, Istanbul, has been marked as one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities as well as one ‘packed with a rich  Byzantine history, divine architecture, fantastic street food, and one-of-a-kind shopping.’

Ray Withers, Director of Turkish property investment experts Property Frontiers comments,

“With Turkey becoming one of the biggest success stories of late having emerged as a sound economic marketplace underpinned by an already thriving tourism industry, positive acclaim from a leading and trusted source such as Frommers will certainly help propel the nation even further, much to the delight of foreign property investors.”

Further positive news arrives from the latest REIDIN.com index which has revealed that Turkey has experienced an increase in the value of residential property with average house prices rising by 0.73% in September 2011 compared to the previous month, while rental values jumped by 0.90% across the same period.

Meanwhile, the Turkish construction sector has grown by 13.2% in the second quarter of 2011 according to data released by the Association of Real Estate Investment Companies (GYODER) with property sales reaching 107,308 in the country in the second quarter of 2011, an increase of 17.8% over the first quarter.

With Turkey ranked in seventh place in the list of most-visited global destinations, according to the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Turkish government has revealed that foreigners invested in excess of $1.3 billion in the Turkish property market last year, thanks to heightened confidence in the market.

With this in mind, the projected demand of 2.9 million houses by 2015 has led investors into the lucrative Buy-to-Let world where there is high demand for good quality rented housing in Istanbul and surrounding areas with Property Frontiers recognising the growing potential of Istanbul as a lucrative property investment hub.

Located in the western suburb of Beylikduzu, one of the fastest growing areas presenting not only one of the best opportunities for property investment but cheaper property price tags than the rest of Europe, the spacious 1 and 2 bedroom luxurious modern apartments of Kensington Residence, affording immediate and guaranteed rental income at 7% for 2 years, will present tremendously good value for money with an investment of only £17,325 required for a 1 bedroom and £30,450 for a 2 bedroom apartment based on the investor utilising 70% LTV finance.

On the other hand, those looking to invest in a key asset class in the proven market of Istanbul can look no further than the booming student accommodation sector.

With University Dormitories and Government Funded Dormitories accounting for only 12.7% of rising student housing demand, a shortfall of housing stock for around 254,000 students has emerged and the new student accommodation development HAN Florya, located in the booming western suburb of Küçükçekmece, will provide an optimum opportunity to capitalise on the growing demand for student housing offering a secure high yielding low level investment starting at £14,965 with no buying, ongoing maintenance or management costs while investors can enjoy a guaranteed NET yield of 10% per annum.

For more information on investing in the Frommers favourite, please contact the experts Property Frontiers today on +44 (0) 1865 202 700 or visit www.propertyfrontiers.com.

Over the past year, two property sectors have upheld an exceptionally strong position seeing considerable growth in student accommodation and the Turkish property market. With this in mind, purpose built student accommodation in Istanbul is currently in high demand providing the perfect opportunity for savvy investors to own a key asset class in a proven market.

Ray Withers Director of Turkish investment expert’s Property Frontiers comments,

“Combining the proven key market fundamentals of Istanbul with an asset class deemed by Knight Frank to be a “critical component of a balanced investment portfolio”, the two sectors combined together make absolute sense”.

With the ongoing success of Turkey’s economy and predictions that the nation will be the 9th largest economy in the world by 2050, Turkey affords 154 universities, four of which have secured a place in the prestigious Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2011-12). While Turkey has as a total student population of 3.78 million, Istanbul represents the educational hub of the nation boasting 36 universities and a student population of 298,000.

Currently, Turkish universities accommodate students from around 147 countries, including the UK, seeing a rise of 59% over the past 5 years and with the international increase in enrolment combined with an 8% annual student growth rate, enormous pressure has been placed on existing student accommodation stock.

Withers explains,

“Student accommodation traditionally supplied by University Dormitories and Government Funded Dormitories account for only 12.7% of demand and has resulted in a shortfall for around 254,000 students. Our new student accommodation development in Istanbul, HAN Florya, provides an optimum opportunity to capitalise on the growing demand for student housing.”

With a huge undersupply of student accommodation mismatched with growing demand, students are transforming the rental market in Turkey offering excellent returns potential for investors.

Located in the booming western suburb of Küçükçekmece, home to some 600,000 people, HAN Florya occupies a prime location close by to three universities in Istanbul with a combined population of 19,000 students and less than 2 minutes’ walk from the Metro bus station enabling easy and quick access to the city centre.

With only 38 student rooms available on a leasehold basis, HAN Florya has been explicitly designed to cater for the market requirement of separate male and female accommodation. Comprising two blocks (one for male, the other for female residents) this attractive student residence offers a secure high yielding low level investment starting at £14,965 with no buying, ongoing maintenance or management costs while investors can enjoy a guaranteed NET yield of 10% per annum. 

For more information on investing in the key asset class of HAN Florya in Istanbul please contact the experts Property Frontiers today on +44 (0) 1865 202 700 or visit www.propertyfrontiers.com.
 

Turkey has become one of the biggest success stories of late having emerged as a sound economic marketplace; but let us not forget what it was that that helped propel the country into the dominant powerhouse it is today. Thanks to a highly successful tourism industry, Turkey has sky rocketed to the top much to the delight foreign property investors.

At present, Turkey ranks seventh in the most-visited global destinations list, according to the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Since 2000, Turkish tourism operators were able to record the first noteworthy increase in tourist numbers, resulting in an impressive 10.4 million visitors that year. From then on, Turkey has experienced consistent growth in its inbound tourists leading the country to reach an incredible 28.63 million visitors in 2010. Today, the tourism sector continues to grow and is a primary contributor to the nation’s national income and success on the global stage.

Indeed, increased tourist numbers over the years certainly contributed to the 11% year on year economic growth seen in Q1 2011 with Turkey’s ‘city of desire’ Istanbul seeing a 30.1% increase in tourist revenue this year helping Istanbul become the 34th richest city by GDP in the world according to data from PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Recording better growth than any of the largest emerging markets in the first quarter of this year, Turkey’s $735 billion economy grew 8.8% in the second quarter, developing faster than India and more than four times the Eurozone’s expansion. And, with the help of ever growing tourist numbers and credit growth prompting rising consumer demand, Turkey has been experiencing the best year for takeovers since 2008 with the value of transactions involving Turkish targets rising by 59% annually to $8.8 billion.

Meanwhile, figures from the Turkish government have shown that foreigners invested in excess of $1.3 billion in the Turkish property market last year. At present, there is a shortage of homes across the country, especially in urban areas such as Istanbul, which is currently on the receiving end of massive internal migration. With this in mind, the projected demand of 2.9 million houses by 2015 has led investors into the lucrative Buy-to-Let world where there is high demand for good quality rented housing in Istanbul and surrounding areas.

Ray Withers, Director of Turkish property investment experts Property Frontiers comments,

“Thanks to huge waves of tourists to the country over the years with some 1.4 million Arab tourists visiting the country between January to August this year alone, it seems everyone wants a piece of Turkey. Certainly, for investors, the Turkish government’s plan to make the tourist industry reach 15% of its GDP by the year 2020 will be a big attraction.

“Currently, the Turkish property market is underpinned by a strong economy with a growing tourism sector, and savvy Buy-to-Let investors understand that this can be converted into solid rental yields. As a result, we at Property Frontiers have recognised the growing potential of Istanbul as a lucrative property investment hub with the western suburb of Beylikduzu, one of the fastest growing areas presenting not only one of the best opportunities for property investment but cheaper property price tags than the rest of Europe.”

Available £17,250 below comparable projects in the area, the spacious 1 and 2 bedroom luxurious modern apartments of Kensington Residence located in the heart of Beylikduzu will present tremendously good value for money with an investment of only £17,325 required for a 1 bedroom and £30,450 for a 2 bedroom apartment based on the investor utilising 70% LTV finance.

The finance is available for EU and North American citizens while investors can enjoy an immediate and guaranteed rental income at 7% for 2 years, the perfect opportunity to capitalise on the positive growth and ever growing popularity of the nation.

For more information on investing in Kensington Residence please contact the experts Property Frontiers today on +44 (0) 1865 202 700 or visit www.propertyfrontiers.com.
 

UKSIF, the sustainable investment and finance association will launch its National Ethical Investment Week (NEIW) from the 16th – 22nd October 2011, in an attempt to inform investors of their green and ethical options when it comes to their finance and investment decisions.

The UK campaign launched in 2008 aims to highlight the positive impacts of green and ethical investments on the environment and society, pointing out that it is possible to pick a socially and environmentally responsible investment and still make excellent returns.

The NEIW campaign will bring together financial advisers, monetary organisations, NGOs, charities and faith groups, all working in partnership to encourage the shift towards a more environmentally sustainable and socially responsible society.

With this in mind, potential investors looking to make a difference not only to their portfolios and bank accounts but to the greater good of the planet can look no further than the best alternative in the sustainable investments sector to date, bamboo.

With the bamboo market currently valued at $5bn a year growing to a predicted $20bn by 2015, bamboo presents the perfect timber alternative that is playing a vital role in helping alleviate not just environmental degradation but the plight of poverty in developing countries such as Nicaragua.

Currently, the world’s forests are under huge pressure as demand for timber grows. Traditional hardwoods take around 25 to 50 years to grow compared to just 50 days for bamboo and as a result, bamboo produces more than 20 times the timber from the same area; thus creating a sustainable and environmentally friendly source of supply.

On a social level, harvesting the fastest growing plant in the world, bamboo, is a labour intensive process and therefore creates many jobs in areas where employment is scarce. In addition, building with bamboo is not only inexpensive but also has the added benefit of providing earthquake proof housing with many architects arguing that bamboo cultivation and construction is the answer to protecting the world’s poor in disaster prone areas.

Meanwhile, for investors bamboo is a high value product with booming demand. The returns from investment far outstrip those of traditional assets in recent years, helping investors pull in attractive annual returns.

Ray Withers, Director of alternative investment experts Property Frontiers explains,

“Bamboo is such a valuable commodity and our asset backed bamboo bond, the world’s first, is one that not only guarantees strong annual returns (highest returning bond priced at $50,000 returns over 500% over a 15 year period) but makes an astounding contribution to our planet and its people. Indeed, while bamboo has vast environmental benefits and qualities that put it ahead of traditional wood materials such as excellent durability and twice the compression strength of concrete it also has over 3,500 commercial uses including food, flooring, furniture, paper, medicines clothes and bikes, you can even get bamboo ipad covers!

Withers continues,

“On a more personal level, what really astounds me is the social impact that bamboo can have on a developing country. On my recent visit to the plantations in Nicaragua I was deeply moved by what I saw. There has been a huge influx of workers and the plantations have become a real lifeline to the people who were once living below the poverty line. Thanks to the work of EcoPlanet, the plantation owners, their average daily wage has increased by 300% and a new shelter is being built to teach many of the workers how to read and write.”

For ethically minded investors, Property Frontiers is providing the perfect opportunity to gain an insight into the world of bamboo investments at their exclusive bamboo investment webinars on Tuesday 11th October 2011 at 1pm BST and Thursday 13th October at 7pm BST.

For attendance on Tuesday please register your details at https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/293761886 and for attendance at Thursday’s webinar please register here https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/125450774. For more information on ethical investing please contact Property Frontiers on +44 (0) 1865 202 700 or visit www.propertyfrontiers.com.
 

One of the hottest global real estate markets with over 12,000 properties already sold to foreign buyers, Istanbul, the economic powerhouse of Turkey has certainly become a “city of desire” for savvy investors.

And now, for those considering buying in this lucrative market, the Turkish property investment experts, Property Frontiers, has produced a new exclusive podcast – Everything you need to know about investing in Istanbul in 60 seconds.

Available to listen to here http://istanbul-investment.propertyfrontiers.com/podcast completely free of charge, Head of Business Development for Property Frontiers, Stuart Johnson, who has just returned from his recent visit to Istanbul, explains what makes the city such an attractive destination for property investment, what types of properties are in greatest demand, which areas to buy in, how much a typical property costs and what returns investors can expect.

Always keen to share their expert knowledge and first-hand experience with clients, Ray Withers, Director of Property Frontiers, comments,

“We believe here at Property Frontiers that knowledge is key to making a successful property investment and that is why we are dedicated to thorough research, due diligence and giving our clients the very latest market insight via a variety of channels.

“Podcasts have become part of everyday life and for busy investors this snapshot of Istanbul, Europe’s premier buy-to-let city, will provide everything they need to know about the market’s fundamentals in 60 seconds.”

For more information about investing in Istanbul and the range of investment properties available from £55,000, contact Property Frontiers today on +44 (0) 1865 202 700 or visit www.propertyfrontiers.com.

A key city in one of the world’s fastest growing economies, Istanbul, Turkey’s economic powerhouse, has been enjoying soaring tourism along with vast internal migration and a youth orientated demography which has propelled the city forward and boosted its property market.

The Global Property Guide, an authoritative source of information on buying overseas property has produced an independent guide to buying property in Istanbul highlighting the city’s strong political situation, strategic location as a gateway between the East and West and historical and geographical beauty as factors that have attributed to Istanbul’s surge in visitors and indeed buy-to-let property investors.

Labelled Eurasia’s rising Tiger by The Wall Street Journal, Turkey’s economy grew 11% year on year in Q1 2011 seeing around $100 billion in foreign investment pour into the nation since Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan took the stand in 2003 while Turkey’s ‘city of desire’ Istanbul saw a 30.1% increase in tourist revenue in 2011 helping the nation become the 34th richest city by GDP in the world according to data from PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

As tourism continues to accelerate faster than other European countries, the Global Property Guide also highlights that Istanbul has now become the third most visited city in Europe after Paris and London with the rise in popularity landing the city in the spotlight of many property investors from around the world including the UK, USA and Russia, attracted to the projected demand of 2.9 million houses by 2015, low unemployment and undervaluation of the Turkish Lira making property in Istanbul relatively inexpensive compared to other European cities.

Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph identified Istanbul as one of the 20 best places to buy a second home abroad in July this year and with positive recommendations such as this, the rental market in the city continues to be successful. Yields between 4% and 8% can be achieved while the demand for accommodation continually increases seeing a 25% rise in the last 5 years according to CB Richard Ellis.

Indeed, the growing middle classes and a flourishing international community have made Istanbul a prime buy-to-let market with outlaying suburbs such as Beylikduzu growing in popularity according to The Global Property Guide.

Ray Withers, Director of Turkish property investment experts Property Frontiers comments,

“We at Property Frontiers have recognised the growing potential of Istanbul as a lucrative property investment hub. The western suburb of Beylikduzu is one of the fastest growing areas which present not only one of the best opportunities for investment but cheaper property price tags than the rest of Europe. Its location is perfect, located close to shopping centres and leisure facilities, the area affords three universities and plenty of green spaces as well as excellent transport options including trains and the Metro bus which runs through the suburb making it easily accessible from the city centre.

“Due to its popularity Beylikduzu is expanding rapidly with the population expected to increase fivefold to 1 million residents by 2016. At present there is an acute shortage of rental properties and it is exactly this lack of supply and growing demand which investors can capitalize on by investing in our new key ready development, Kensington Residence.”

Available £17,250 below comparable projects in the area, the spacious 1 and 2 bedroom luxurious modern apartments of Kensington Residence located in the heart of Beylikduzu will present tremendously good value for money with an investment of only £17,325 required for a 1 bedroom and £30,450 for a 2 bedroom apartment based on the investor utilising 70% LTV finance.

The finance is available for EU and North American citizens while investors can enjoy an immediate and guaranteed rental income at 7% for 2 years, the perfect opportunity to capitalise on the positive growth and ever growing popularity of the nation.

For more information about Kensington Residence please contact the experts Property Frontiers today on +44 (0) 1865 202 700 or visit www.propertyfrontiers.com and to obtain your free guide to buying in Istanbul from Global Property Guide please visit http://downloads.globalpropertyguide.com/Istanbul.aspx
 

Turkey’s tourism sector has exhibited a remarkable performance this year with an 11% increase in the number of tourists visiting the Eurasian nation in the first seven months of 2011 with 17,624,969 tourists visiting between January and July this year according to data from the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry and up to 30 million expected in total by year end.

Impressively, the month of July alone saw a 5.49% increase in tourists visiting the country totalling 4,597,475 tourists, of which Germany took centre stage with 602,511 travellers (13.11%) while 586,905 tourists (12.17%) arrived from Russia and 435,143 (9.46%) from England.

With 25.41% of tourists entering through Istanbul, the city’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport has been named the world’s fastest growing airport by Airports Council International (ACI) having experienced a 29% increase in international tourists in the first seven months of 2010, hardly surprising given the booming nature of Turkey’s airline carriers recently.

Turkey’s national flag carrier, Turkish Airlines, one of the fastest growing airlines in the world carried 18.1 million passengers in the first seven months of this year, 10.6% more than in the same period last year, helping propel the carrier towards being named the best airline in Europe at the World Airline Awards 2011 back in July in recognition of the quality of its in-cabin service and the range of locations it flies to. The airline also won the World´s Best Premium Economy Class Airline Seat and Best Airline Southern Europe awards.

Furthermore, Turkish Airlines, which has increased its number of destinations both within and outside of Turkey including more flights to Washington D.C. and a new route to Turin, Italy is preparing to commence its first ever flight to Argentina by the end of the year.

Undoubtedly becoming one of the most popular places to visit, Turkey has witnessed the positive knock on effect on the local real estate market seeing the average price of a house increase by 6.2% in the first quarter of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010. And, combined with the nation’s fast growing and stable economy outstripping BRIC powerhouses like China, Turkey has quickly emerged as an investment goldmine for potential property investors.

Ray Withers, Director of Turkish property investment experts, Property Frontiers, comments,

“The Turkish economy is thriving. Strong economic growth and increasing demand for property generated from growing populations combined with the removal of visa requirements for many countries have created vast opportunities for investors.  Economic stability is without a doubt one the biggest reasons behind good sales figures in the Turkish property market with investment focussed within rapidly growing cities like Istanbul, in particular areas like Beylikduzu, one of the fastest growing regions in the country that affords cheaper property price tags than the rest of Europe.”

As a perfect opportunity to capitalise on the positive growth and ever growing popularity of the nation, Property Frontiers has a stunning new key ready development affording 1 and 2 bedroom luxurious modern apartments located in the heart of Beylikduzu.

Available £20,000 below comparable projects in the area, the spacious apartments of Kensington Residence will present tremendously good value for money with an investment of only £16,500 required for a 1 bedroom and £29,000 for a 2 bedroom apartment.

In addition 70% LTV finance is available while investors can enjoy an immediate and guaranteed rental income at 7% for 2 years.

For more information about investing in this European investment thoroughbred which is set to see a 5% price increase as of 9th September 2011, please contact the experts Property Frontiers today on +44 (0) 1865 202 700 or visit www.propertyfrontiers.com.