After spending a week in the city, I found answers as to why. Really a lot of factors that will help city managers realise this.
Have a great day everyone! Good to see you on the pages of my expert blog about property, if you are not already a subscriber of the channel, I advise you to subscribe immediately, it is one of the top 20 most read about property in Zen.
The phenomenon of Antalya as the most attractive resort city in Turkey has long been known among both tourists and expats, those who have made the decision to move to live in the sunny country, choosing this city. There is a lot of the best of what awaits a foreigner or well-to-do Turk from a major city from the north of Turkey. Why do I start with Antalya? It is simple, it is the so-called benchmark in the country.
Climate and sea
The main thing that actually is the main trigger when deciding to buy a flat or move. The sea is warm from April to November, clean, comfortable and favourable. Winter from year to year pleases with warm weather, for example, at the beginning of March, when I write this article in the street 20 degrees Celsius, sometimes there are rains.
Infrastructure
This is the main thing that catches the eye. Convenient roads and interchanges, many shopping centres, social institutions, especially for foreigners. Very well-maintained seafronts, for example, Konyaalti seafront is statistically the most visited in Eurasia, and of course it is not for nothing.
Holidays
Admit it, because among the readers there are few who have never had a holiday in Antalya. And the reason is of course in the incredibly developed tourist sector. More than 1000 hotels within the city, from simple 2-3* to fashionable 5* with the system "ultra all inclusive". At the same time there is a ski resort, thermal springs and hotels, a lot of attractions such as Cappadocia, canyon, beautiful funiculars, museums, oceanarium and of course one of the largest zoos in the region. Antalya is not just about the sea, believe me.
Accessibility
Of course the main one is the country's largest international air hub. At the same time, Antalya Airport is currently being actively modernised, and after a while it will set itself the task of becoming the largest connecting hub, as Istanbul Airport is now. At the same time, the road infrastructure allows you to get to any point of the city from the airport within 30-40 minutes, on a bypass road.
Service, business and medical tourism.
Opening accounts, companies and free economic zones have attracted a huge number of foreigners in the last few years, my colleagues in the banking sector tell me.
Medical tourism is a new idea for city planners. Dentistry, hair transplantation, surgery, cosmetology - all these areas have developed dramatically in the last 5 years. For example, 5 out of 10 clients of our company on arrival combined a visit to the dental clinic and the purchase of a flat.
Of course, we ended up with high property prices, cost of living and basic needs. It is these laurels do not give rest to the city, which is 40 minutes away by plane, to the south and kind of in its characteristics are not inferior to it. I am of course talking about the largest city on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, Mersin.
So, Mersin as of 2023, what it is and what is the city strategy
The city is currently home to over 2 million people, almost twice as many as Antalya. The city is located 200 kilometres to the east and is predominantly based along the sea edge. The length of the beach strip is more than 50 kilometres. The climate in the city is highly subdued, it is 2 degrees cooler in summer and 2 degrees warmer in winter. The reason is the geographical peculiarity of the city - it is not closed along the perimeter by a mountain range. All this climatically does not make Mersin isolated, so the summer is not so hot, and the winter is a little warmer. The main and undoubtedly supporting infrastructural object of the city is the port, located in its eastern part. It is also the second largest port in Turkey. As such, there is no industrial production in it, as historically Mersin was a tourist destination for poor Turks. The main feature of the city is that it is stretched along the sea for many kilometres. In other words, wherever you live, the sea will be close by.
Minuses at the moment
The city of over 2 million people has no airport. It has been suffocating all this time, as the only air harbour is in Adana, an hour's drive away. Of course, this primarily affected the attractiveness of the city for foreigners, tourists and hoteliers. How to get there, not by reindeer? Moreover, the road from the nearest Antalya with a large international airport takes at least 7 hours on mountain serpentines.
In the city with the widest and longest strip of seafront, more than 60 kilometres long. As such, there are no equipped and landscaped beaches, they are usually all wild. And only lately there are islands of civilisation in the western part of the city, which is now absolutely new.
Hotels in the city, unlike Antalya, are dozens of times smaller. For example, there are only three 5* hotels in the city. Investors can be understood, they do not consider this direction economically justified for themselves, especially since construction is always carried out in clusters united by common infrastructure.
There is not a lot of tourist infrastructure in the city, but its realisation requires an appropriate target audience. I think you will agree with me that the construction of the same oceanarium is a big investment task, which should have an appropriate justification.
Agree, it seems a bit illogical to introduce the city from the minuses. But I don't think so, as these very minuses are the point of growth, which may be interesting for investors or just those who want to move to live in the city. It is these disadvantages that lie in the main fundamental factor like sqm prices. We are in the property channel, aren't we? As far as there are disadvantages in the city now, the price is so much lower. For example, in Antalya the cost of an adequate holiday flat starts at 100.000 and in Mersin from 45.000. More than 2 times less. And I want to talk about what will be done in the next two to five years and how it will generally affect Mersin as the largest southern city in Turkey.
Airport.
The first and foremost problem that has been a thorn in the side of anyone living in Mersin is the lack of a proper airport. For more than 30 years the government weighed the decision, made, postponed and made again. And as a result, two years ago, the construction of an international airport was launched with a record investment of 200.000 million dollars. And the peculiarity of the investment is that it is 100% financed by foreign capitals. And in 2 months it will be officially opened, as usual with some delays. By its characteristics it will be even bigger than the Antalya one, as everyone understands that its size and capacity is primarily based on the general strategic plan of the city development. In fact, the journey time from Moscow will be about 4 hours, from Istanbul 1 hour 15 minutes.
The journey from Antalya to Mersin in my car took me 7 hours and more. It seems not far to drive, only 470 km, but in the middle of the road there is a pass, where many people lose a lot of time. And all along the way I saw a huge amount of machinery, which are now finishing the construction of a straight road through the mountains, where the estimated travel time from Antalya will not exceed 4 hours. This is truly monumental construction, as realistically half of the journey will be through the mountains.
Hotels and repositioning of the city
There are few hotels in the city. There are few quality hotels on the seafront, as is common in Antalya. There is no airport, no investors. And only now strong hotel chains, such as Radisson, are actively entering the city, which in the next 3-4 years will completely change the image and positioning of the city. And first of all, of course, all this is due to the incredible waterfront, which has a cumulative length of more than 50 kilometres within the city. And imagine how much lower the cost of construction will be for investors compared to the alternative solution in Antalya.
Social and tourist infrastructure
Mersin is famous for its beautiful promenade in the city centre. It is long, wide, in marble, beautiful. But! It does not go along the whole city as it is not economically feasible for the city planners. And this is what will be the next stage of the city's development within 2-3 years. In fact, it is not a big period, as the famous Konyaalti embankment in Antalya was also shovelled from scratch for several years, stage by stage. And this in turn increased the interest, prices and quality of life of those who live near it.
Conclusions
All these are the points of growth that are responsible for the low property prices in this city at the moment. To be more precise, we are talking about starting prices in new developments from 39.000 Euros. And then I will tell you about what I have managed to collect from my colleagues and the local municipality during my week in our branch.
What is being done
So, first things first. The readiness of the airport is now more than 90%. Technically, it has been launched, but there are still shortcomings in the internal arrangement and staff training. Since the investor is mainly foreigners, they will influence the city as much as possible so that it would start to pay off and be filled with the pilot programme as much as possible. This in turn will attract international companies to the city. Ciucurova Airport plans to receive up to 12 million passengers a year with an expansion project already in place for the next phase.
At the moment, plans for the construction of chain international holiday hotels such as Radisson have been officially approved. The total coastal lily of the Mersin agglomeration has a total length of 321 kilometres, most of which are blue-flagged. All of which will provide a golden alternative to resorts such as Antalya.
Mersin has more than 10 of the country's largest universities and this is the direction the regional government is going in. This will attract a large number of foreign applicants who will choose this city over congested Istanbul.
Have a great day everyone! Good to see you on the pages of my expert blog about property, if you are not already a subscriber of the channel, I advise you to subscribe immediately, it is one of the top 20 most read about property in Zen.
The phenomenon of Antalya as the most attractive resort city in Turkey has long been known among both tourists and expats, those who have made the decision to move to live in the sunny country, choosing this city. There is a lot of the best of what awaits a foreigner or well-to-do Turk from a major city from the north of Turkey. Why do I start with Antalya? It is simple, it is the so-called benchmark in the country.
Climate and sea
The main thing that actually is the main trigger when deciding to buy a flat or move. The sea is warm from April to November, clean, comfortable and favourable. Winter from year to year pleases with warm weather, for example, at the beginning of March, when I write this article in the street 20 degrees Celsius, sometimes there are rains.
Infrastructure
This is the main thing that catches the eye. Convenient roads and interchanges, many shopping centres, social institutions, especially for foreigners. Very well-maintained seafronts, for example, Konyaalti seafront is statistically the most visited in Eurasia, and of course it is not for nothing.
Holidays
Admit it, because among the readers there are few who have never had a holiday in Antalya. And the reason is of course in the incredibly developed tourist sector. More than 1000 hotels within the city, from simple 2-3* to fashionable 5* with the system "ultra all inclusive". At the same time there is a ski resort, thermal springs and hotels, a lot of attractions such as Cappadocia, canyon, beautiful funiculars, museums, oceanarium and of course one of the largest zoos in the region. Antalya is not just about the sea, believe me.
Accessibility
Of course the main one is the country's largest international air hub. At the same time, Antalya Airport is currently being actively modernised, and after a while it will set itself the task of becoming the largest connecting hub, as Istanbul Airport is now. At the same time, the road infrastructure allows you to get to any point of the city from the airport within 30-40 minutes, on a bypass road.
Service, business and medical tourism.
Opening accounts, companies and free economic zones have attracted a huge number of foreigners in the last few years, my colleagues in the banking sector tell me.
Medical tourism is a new idea for city planners. Dentistry, hair transplantation, surgery, cosmetology - all these areas have developed dramatically in the last 5 years. For example, 5 out of 10 clients of our company on arrival combined a visit to the dental clinic and the purchase of a flat.
Of course, we ended up with high property prices, cost of living and basic needs. It is these laurels do not give rest to the city, which is 40 minutes away by plane, to the south and kind of in its characteristics are not inferior to it. I am of course talking about the largest city on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, Mersin.
So, Mersin as of 2023, what it is and what is the city strategy
The city is currently home to over 2 million people, almost twice as many as Antalya. The city is located 200 kilometres to the east and is predominantly based along the sea edge. The length of the beach strip is more than 50 kilometres. The climate in the city is highly subdued, it is 2 degrees cooler in summer and 2 degrees warmer in winter. The reason is the geographical peculiarity of the city - it is not closed along the perimeter by a mountain range. All this climatically does not make Mersin isolated, so the summer is not so hot, and the winter is a little warmer. The main and undoubtedly supporting infrastructural object of the city is the port, located in its eastern part. It is also the second largest port in Turkey. As such, there is no industrial production in it, as historically Mersin was a tourist destination for poor Turks. The main feature of the city is that it is stretched along the sea for many kilometres. In other words, wherever you live, the sea will be close by.
Minuses at the moment
The city of over 2 million people has no airport. It has been suffocating all this time, as the only air harbour is in Adana, an hour's drive away. Of course, this primarily affected the attractiveness of the city for foreigners, tourists and hoteliers. How to get there, not by reindeer? Moreover, the road from the nearest Antalya with a large international airport takes at least 7 hours on mountain serpentines.
In the city with the widest and longest strip of seafront, more than 60 kilometres long. As such, there are no equipped and landscaped beaches, they are usually all wild. And only lately there are islands of civilisation in the western part of the city, which is now absolutely new.
Hotels in the city, unlike Antalya, are dozens of times smaller. For example, there are only three 5* hotels in the city. Investors can be understood, they do not consider this direction economically justified for themselves, especially since construction is always carried out in clusters united by common infrastructure.
There is not a lot of tourist infrastructure in the city, but its realisation requires an appropriate target audience. I think you will agree with me that the construction of the same oceanarium is a big investment task, which should have an appropriate justification.
Agree, it seems a bit illogical to introduce the city from the minuses. But I don't think so, as these very minuses are the point of growth, which may be interesting for investors or just those who want to move to live in the city. It is these disadvantages that lie in the main fundamental factor like sqm prices. We are in the property channel, aren't we? As far as there are disadvantages in the city now, the price is so much lower. For example, in Antalya the cost of an adequate holiday flat starts at 100.000 and in Mersin from 45.000. More than 2 times less. And I want to talk about what will be done in the next two to five years and how it will generally affect Mersin as the largest southern city in Turkey.
Airport.
The first and foremost problem that has been a thorn in the side of anyone living in Mersin is the lack of a proper airport. For more than 30 years the government weighed the decision, made, postponed and made again. And as a result, two years ago, the construction of an international airport was launched with a record investment of 200.000 million dollars. And the peculiarity of the investment is that it is 100% financed by foreign capitals. And in 2 months it will be officially opened, as usual with some delays. By its characteristics it will be even bigger than the Antalya one, as everyone understands that its size and capacity is primarily based on the general strategic plan of the city development. In fact, the journey time from Moscow will be about 4 hours, from Istanbul 1 hour 15 minutes.
The journey from Antalya to Mersin in my car took me 7 hours and more. It seems not far to drive, only 470 km, but in the middle of the road there is a pass, where many people lose a lot of time. And all along the way I saw a huge amount of machinery, which are now finishing the construction of a straight road through the mountains, where the estimated travel time from Antalya will not exceed 4 hours. This is truly monumental construction, as realistically half of the journey will be through the mountains.
Hotels and repositioning of the city
There are few hotels in the city. There are few quality hotels on the seafront, as is common in Antalya. There is no airport, no investors. And only now strong hotel chains, such as Radisson, are actively entering the city, which in the next 3-4 years will completely change the image and positioning of the city. And first of all, of course, all this is due to the incredible waterfront, which has a cumulative length of more than 50 kilometres within the city. And imagine how much lower the cost of construction will be for investors compared to the alternative solution in Antalya.
Social and tourist infrastructure
Mersin is famous for its beautiful promenade in the city centre. It is long, wide, in marble, beautiful. But! It does not go along the whole city as it is not economically feasible for the city planners. And this is what will be the next stage of the city's development within 2-3 years. In fact, it is not a big period, as the famous Konyaalti embankment in Antalya was also shovelled from scratch for several years, stage by stage. And this in turn increased the interest, prices and quality of life of those who live near it.
Conclusions
All these are the points of growth that are responsible for the low property prices in this city at the moment. To be more precise, we are talking about starting prices in new developments from 39.000 Euros. And then I will tell you about what I have managed to collect from my colleagues and the local municipality during my week in our branch.
What is being done
So, first things first. The readiness of the airport is now more than 90%. Technically, it has been launched, but there are still shortcomings in the internal arrangement and staff training. Since the investor is mainly foreigners, they will influence the city as much as possible so that it would start to pay off and be filled with the pilot programme as much as possible. This in turn will attract international companies to the city. Ciucurova Airport plans to receive up to 12 million passengers a year with an expansion project already in place for the next phase.
At the moment, plans for the construction of chain international holiday hotels such as Radisson have been officially approved. The total coastal lily of the Mersin agglomeration has a total length of 321 kilometres, most of which are blue-flagged. All of which will provide a golden alternative to resorts such as Antalya.
Mersin has more than 10 of the country's largest universities and this is the direction the regional government is going in. This will attract a large number of foreign applicants who will choose this city over congested Istanbul.
Well and most importantly, the seafront and beaches. They are the main attraction for tourists, visitors and residents. According to the project of the city in the next two years a large amount of funding is planned for the development of the entire beach strip along the city.
A large number of free economic zones with minimal tax rates are planned and implemented in the city, which will attract a large number of foreign entrepreneurs and industries, transferring with relocation of companies within the country.
How will this affect the property market in this city.
Everything is very predictable - both the price and demand will definitely increase. In fact, there we see everything that was in Antalya about 15 years ago. Many times I talked to old residents who remembered the picture of those years, and compared it with today. A drastic difference in quality of life and opportunities. Although of course there are those who remember with nostalgia the silence and low prices.
Like any specialist, I have a narrow specialisation, I am a classic investment specialist. I look for ideas, sell them and buy them myself. And I always rely on a rationale that can be fundamental, not emotional. The fundamentals are strong, long-term and extremely realisable. In fact, everything that happened to Antalya and made this city the pearl of Turkey will be waiting for Mersin in the future, but you have to wait a little bit. But that's how human psychology works, he always wants to feel with his hands, but unfortunately, everything that can be felt will be already in the price. I believe that in the next 3-5 years this city will see a strong and rapid construction boom as the city's development strategy is implemented.
What is the purpose of my article? Search for alternatives and a broader view for those who are thinking about how to combine the preservation of what they have been able to save, saving on holidays, and still not get a dead burden, which seems to be, as it is, but does not bring you anything. And the fundamental qualities of Turkey as a whole, regardless of whether it is Antalya or Alanya or Mersin, are very strong. This climate, proximity, infrastructure, 2-5 times lower property prices compared to the same Sochi, and of course opportunities.
A large number of free economic zones with minimal tax rates are planned and implemented in the city, which will attract a large number of foreign entrepreneurs and industries, transferring with relocation of companies within the country.
How will this affect the property market in this city.
Everything is very predictable - both the price and demand will definitely increase. In fact, there we see everything that was in Antalya about 15 years ago. Many times I talked to old residents who remembered the picture of those years, and compared it with today. A drastic difference in quality of life and opportunities. Although of course there are those who remember with nostalgia the silence and low prices.
Like any specialist, I have a narrow specialisation, I am a classic investment specialist. I look for ideas, sell them and buy them myself. And I always rely on a rationale that can be fundamental, not emotional. The fundamentals are strong, long-term and extremely realisable. In fact, everything that happened to Antalya and made this city the pearl of Turkey will be waiting for Mersin in the future, but you have to wait a little bit. But that's how human psychology works, he always wants to feel with his hands, but unfortunately, everything that can be felt will be already in the price. I believe that in the next 3-5 years this city will see a strong and rapid construction boom as the city's development strategy is implemented.
What is the purpose of my article? Search for alternatives and a broader view for those who are thinking about how to combine the preservation of what they have been able to save, saving on holidays, and still not get a dead burden, which seems to be, as it is, but does not bring you anything. And the fundamental qualities of Turkey as a whole, regardless of whether it is Antalya or Alanya or Mersin, are very strong. This climate, proximity, infrastructure, 2-5 times lower property prices compared to the same Sochi, and of course opportunities.