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Off-plan, under construction
Sold from plans and a show unit before the block is finished. The widest choice of floor and aspect, staged payments through the build, and a completion date that belongs in the contract rather than in a conversation.
Property in Turkey · New build or resale
New build or resale in Turkey
Two different purchases rather than a better and a worse one. What each gives you, what each asks of you, and how to tell which fits.
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15 placescovered across Turkey, coast and city
Every checknamed before a reservation, not after
One teamfor the search, the paperwork and the deal
About this
Off-plan, new build and resale in Turkey compared
What off-plan actually buys, and what it asks
Off-plan property in Turkey means buying a described unit in a building that has not been finished, and the description is the product. What that buys is real. The block goes up under the construction standards and insulation requirements in force now. While the project is still selling you can choose the floor, the aspect and often the layout, which is exactly the choice that disappears once a building is complete. The price is usually payable in stages across the construction period rather than in one sum at signature. And nothing in the flat has been used. What it asks in return is that you accept completion risk, because until handover you hold a contract and a schedule rather than a building.
The deed during construction, and after it
New build apartments in Turkey are usually transferred first as kat irtifaki, the construction servitude. It is a legitimate deed rather than a lesser one: it records your ownership of a defined unit in a project that is not yet complete. It converts to kat mulkiyeti, full condominium ownership, once the finished building holds its iskan, the habitation permit confirming it was built in line with its licence and may legally be occupied. That progression is normal and expected. What deserves attention is its timing: who applies for the conversion, on what trigger and by when. Put it in the purchase contract in plain terms rather than accepting that it follows automatically.
What a finished building lets you verify
Resale property in Turkey removes the largest unknown, because the thing you are buying is standing in front of you. You can walk the flat, look at the light at the hour you would actually be in it, and see how the complex has been kept. You can talk to the neighbours, which is the only reliable way to learn how the building is managed. The aidat, the monthly service charge, has a real history you can read rather than a figure someone estimates for you. The landscaping is grown rather than drawn. And in an established district, the same budget often reaches more floor space than it would in a new project on the edge of town.
The age of the block, and which route suits which buyer
What resale asks in return is attention to the building itself. The Turkish building code was tightened in 2000 and revised again in 2018, which makes the construction date a substantive question rather than a detail, answered with the year, the licence and any structural assessment. Then the ordinary condition questions: the roof, the plumbing, the lifts, whether the iskan is in place, and whether any aidat arrears are attached to the unit, since that debt follows the property to its new owner. Put honestly, a first-time buyer who wants certainty and a known running cost is usually better served by resale; a buyer who wants a specific new unit, a payment plan and current construction standards is better served by new build, provided the developer stands up to checking.
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Start here
Neither one is the safe answer. They are different trades.
Off-plan buys current construction standards, a choice of unit and a payment plan, and asks you to accept that the building does not exist yet. Resale buys a building you can walk through, neighbours you can meet and a service charge history you can read, and asks you to take on its age and its condition. The useful question is not which is better but which set of unknowns you would rather carry.
Where to look
The three states a property is sold in
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Newly completed
Built to current standards and finished, but not yet lived in. The building can be inspected and the habitation permit checked, while the complex has no service charge history to read yet.
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Established resale
An existing flat in a running complex. Grown landscaping, an actual aidat record, neighbours to talk to, and a construction date that is a substantive question in Turkey rather than a detail.
Before a reservation
A render sells a mood. A tapu tells you what you own.
We gather the facts behind a property first, then say plainly what holds up, what needs answering and what is simply unknown at this stage.
Title and rights
What the tapu says, which form of ownership it is, and whether the registry shows anything undisclosed.
The building
Construction date against the building code, whether the iskan is in place, and the state of the block.
The real cost
Service charge, utilities, property tax and insurance, written out as a yearly figure.
Getting out
Who the next buyer would be, and how long a sale in this district usually takes.
New build or resaleNew build or resaleGet a shortlist of both
Your shortlist
A shortlist with both options in it
We do not sell one route and call the other a compromise. The list sets a project and a finished flat side by side for the same budget, with the questions each of them deserves.
- Off-plan, newly completed and resale compared for the same budget in the same district
- For a project: completed work you can visit, the building licence, and who is named in the contract
- For a resale: construction date, iskan status, the aidat history and any arrears on the unit
How we work
We would rather send four properties that fit than forty that do not.
The first conversation is about how the property will be used, not about what is available this week. Everything after that follows from the answer.
The brief
How many months a year you will be there, who else uses it, and what you will not compromise on.
The shortlist
A small number of properties in districts that match, with the trade-off in each spelled out.
The checks
Registry, permits, service charge history and the questions to put to the seller in writing.
The purchase
Tax number, bank account, valuation report and the Land Registry appointment, in order.
Checks before you buy
Eight things a property should survive
Title, permits, contract, building age, service charge, season, management and resale. We are not your lawyer; we make sure you arrive at one with the right questions.
The process
Four steps, and no rush at the start
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Tell us the plan
Pick a messenger and leave a number. You may have a town in mind, or none at all.
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A short conversation
Months of use, budget range, timing, and the things that would rule a property out.
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The shortlist
A handful of options that fit, with what to compare and what to check on each.
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The next step
Viewings, questions to the seller, and the paperwork in the right order.
Questions worth asking out loud
A property worth buying can take an awkward question.
Why this district?
Demand, season length, what is open in winter and what is being built nearby.
What does a year cost?
Service charge, utilities, tax and insurance, before anyone talks about yield.
What if plans change?
Use, letting and resale are worth discussing before a deposit, not after.
Who is the next buyer?
A property local buyers also want is a property you can sell.
Read next
FAQ
Before the first conversation
Is buying off-plan riskier than buying a resale flat?
It carries a different risk rather than simply more of it. With off-plan you are buying a description, so the risk sits in completion: whether the building is delivered on time and to the specification promised. That risk is worked on before signature, by looking at what the developer has already finished and by writing delivery terms into the contract. With resale the building exists and cannot fail to appear, so the risk moves into its condition and its age, which are inspectable but easy to skip past. One is a risk about the future and one is a risk about the past, and both are reduced the same way, by asking for documents rather than assurances.
What should I check on a developer before paying anything?
Five things, and none of them are awkward to ask for. Previous projects that are finished and standing, close enough to visit, so you can see the delivered quality rather than the rendered version. The building licence for this project, issued by the municipality. The identity of the party actually named in the purchase contract, which is not always the brand on the hoarding. What the contract says happens if delivery is late, in writing and with a date rather than a season. And confirmation that payments go to the party named in the contract, into an account in that name. A developer who has done this before expects all five.
Does the age of a resale building matter in Turkey?
More than it would in many countries, and for a specific reason. The Turkish building code was tightened in 2000 and revised again in 2018, so the construction date tells you which set of rules the block was built under. That makes it a substantive question rather than a line in the listing. Ask for the year of construction, the building licence and any structural assessment or retrofit record. Alongside that, ask the practical questions a survey answers: the state of the roof, the plumbing and the lifts, whether the iskan is in place, and whether any aidat arrears sit against the flat, because under Turkish condominium law that debt follows the property.
Can a foreigner buy an apartment in Turkey?
Yes. Citizens of most countries can own residential property in Turkey in their own name. The limits are geographic rather than personal: purchases are restricted inside designated military and security zones, and there is a cap on the share of land in any one district that foreign nationals may hold. Both are checked before a reservation, not after.
New build or resale
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