Rents have tripled in the last four years

İBB Deputy Secretary General Dr. Buğra Gökce analyzed the rates of income increase in Turkey for the period from April 2019 to April 2023.

Sharing the shocking image that surfaced on his social media account, Gökce claimed that while the average monthly rental price in 81 provinces was 728 lira in April 2019, the figure has risen to 5,058 lira today.

Stating that the rate of increase was 583 percent, Gökce said: “While the rental price was only 27 percent of the average salary in April 2019 in Turkey, today it has reached 45 percent. The rental price in Muğla is 187 percent of the average salary, 120 percent in Antalya and 117 percent in Istanbul,” he said.

AVERAGE INCREASE IN METROPOLITAN CITIES 697 PERCENT

Emphasizing that the situation in the metropolitan areas is very different from the Türkiye average, Gökce shared the following data:

“The average increase in rental prices in 30 metropolitan cities between April 2019 and 2023 is 697 percent. The increase in Antalya is 1,109 percent, in Mersin 963 percent, in Muğla 935 percent, in Ankara 833 percent, Istanbul 713 percent For example Antalya and The average rental price in Istanbul is 1.5 times the minimum wage The rental price in Muğla has increased to 2.5 times the minimum wage In 30 metropolitan cities, the median rental price has exceeded 79 percent of the minimum wage.”

Explaining that the increase in rental price in the first 10 provinces, where refugees are densely populated, is above Turkey’s average, Gökce said: “Rental prices have increased by 702 percent. While the ratio of rent to minimum wage in these provinces was 46% in 2019, it has risen to 86% today. In other words, the minimum wage has melted in front of the rent”.

THE CRISIS WILL DEEPEN

Stating that the housing crisis is deeper than people think, Gökce pointed out that especially in 30 big cities where 75 percent of Turkey’s population lives, a significant part of their income goes to rental housing.

“Young people who have just started working do not have the possibility of renting a house with their salary. Gökce said that after housing rent is deducted from the salaries of civil servants and civil servants working in metropolitan areas, there is only a very small resource left for food, transportation, clothing and basic necessities.

Saying that this crisis will deepen if Turkey does not take very serious revolutionary measures to solve the housing crisis in the coming years, Gökçe said: “We will face the most serious housing crisis in our republican history.”