Property in Istanbul

What this page covers

Our Türkiye page deals with the national questions — the $400,000 citizenship threshold, purchase taxes, the lira, residence permits. This page does the thing that page cannot: it looks at Istanbul as a city and asks where in it you should actually buy.

Eleven named districts appear across the eleven projects, spread from Beylikdüzü in the far west to Pendik in the far east — about 70 km apart, on opposite continents. Treating them as one market called “Istanbul” is the single most common mistake buyers make here.

Istanbul at a glance

Price per square metre — the ranking that inverts

Sorting by asking price tells you what you can afford. Sorting by price per square metre tells you what you are getting, and the two orders are strikingly different.

Two inversions are worth the whole table. JW Marriott Tarabya is the third-cheapest ticket on the list and the second-most expensive per square metre — because its entry unit is 38 m². You are buying a small apartment with a hotel brand on it, in a Bosphorus-front district. That may be exactly what you want; it is simply not “cheap”.

The mirror image is Referans Göktürk: seventh by price, second-best by area, because the smallest unit is 112 m². If floor space is what you are after, it is the strongest number on the page after Marina.

How this is calculated, and its limits. These figures are the entry price divided by the smallest listed unit size — the fairest like-for-like comparison available from the data we hold, but an approximation. Developers do not always price the smallest unit at the headline figure, and larger units usually carry a different rate. Treat the column as a ranking tool, not a quotation, and confirm the rate for the specific unit you are considering. Hayat Vision is excluded because it is priced in lira (₺5,920,000, roughly ₺74,900/m²) and cannot be placed in a dollar ranking without fixing an exchange rate.

The European side, district by district

Beylikdüzü — far west, roughly 35 km from the historic centre, on the Marmara coast. Purpose-built, low-rise-to-mid-rise, family-oriented, and by a wide margin the cheapest space in this list. Marina Residences at $2,080/m² is what the outer edge of the city costs. The trade is commuting distance to anywhere central.

Bahçelievler — dense, established, inner-western suburb with strong metro access. Not glamorous, genuinely convenient, and priced accordingly. Beneglow sits here at $4,891/m².

Maslak — the central business district: towers, headquarters, universities. You buy Maslak to be at work or to let to people who are. Maslak Vision at $5,253/m².

Göktürk — north-west, near the Belgrade Forest. Low density, green, villa-and-compound territory, popular with families who want space and are willing to drive. Referans Göktürk, $4,420/m².

Tarabya — a Bosphorus village in Sarıyer, north of the centre, historically the diplomatic and summer-residence stretch. Expensive land, small units, hotel branding. JW Marriott Residences, $9,342/m².

Beşiktaş — central, waterfront, nightlife, universities, football. One of the most consistently in-demand addresses in the city and priced like it. Referans Beşiktaş, $9,231/m².

Bomonti (Şişli) — inner European side, a former brewery quarter turned dense residential and nightlife district, central and walkable. City Residences, $10,059/m² — the highest rate on the list.

The Asian side, district by district

Ataşehir — the Asian financial centre, planned, modern, high-rise. Business-district demand without European-side pricing. Modasehir, $6,705/m², and the widest unit range on the list at 88–1,108 m².

Acıbadem — inner Asian side, well connected by metro and close to Kadıköy without Kadıköy prices. Residential, established, hospital and university anchored. Benlexa, $7,210/m².

Pendik — far east, next to Sabiha Gökçen airport and the high-speed rail terminus. The Asian mirror of Beylikdüzü: distance in exchange for price. Hayat Vision sits here, priced in lira.

Ümraniye — inner Asian side, on the M5 metro line, residential and well connected rather than scenic. Evler Residences, $5,000/m², with its own stations at Yamanevler and Çakmak.

Which district suits which buyer

Getting around, and why it matters to price

Istanbul’s price geography follows its transport more than its postcards. The metro network has expanded aggressively and a district’s value tends to move with its connection, not its view.

The practical points for a buyer: the two airports sit on opposite continents, so a Beylikdüzü home is a long way from Sabiha Gökçen and a Pendik home is a long way from İstanbul Airport. Bosphorus crossings — two bridges plus the Marmaray rail tunnel and the Eurasia road tunnel — are the bottleneck between the sides, and crossing at peak is measured in a lot more than distance suggests. If you will use the property yourself, decide which side you are on before you shortlist by price.

Two districts we had to establish ourselves

Both of these listings reached us without a usable district, and we resolved them from their stored map coordinates rather than guessing.

Evler Residences was filed under Maslak — European side — while being marketed as “Asian Istanbul”. Its coordinates fall in Ümraniye, and its own description cites the Yamanevler and Çakmak stations on the M5 line, which runs only on the Asian side. The marketing was right and the address field was wrong; the record has been corrected.

City Residences recorded no district at all, only “Istanbul” — awkward for the highest rate per square metre on the list. It sits in Bomonti, part of Şişli, on the European side, which its own description confirms. Also corrected.

Frequently asked questions

Which is the best value per square metre?

Marina Residences in Beylikdüzü at roughly $2,080/m² — less than a quarter of the most expensive on the list. The trade-off is distance from the centre.

European or Asian side?

European carries the premium and the deeper international resale market. Asian gives more space for the money and houses a large share of domestic demand. Seven of these projects are European, four Asian.

Why is the cheapest ticket not the cheapest apartment?

Because entry prices reflect the smallest unit. JW Marriott Tarabya is third-cheapest to buy but its entry unit is 38 m², making it the second-dearest per square metre on the list.

Do any of these qualify for Turkish citizenship?

Five clear $400,000 at entry price. The mechanics, thresholds and the three-year hold are on the Türkiye page.

Are these ready or off-plan?

Completion years run 2023 to 2025, so all are finished or effectively finished.

Is one of them priced in lira?

Yes — Hayat Vision in Pendik, at ₺5,920,000. Ask for a dated dollar quotation and check the contract currency.

Can I buy without coming to Istanbul?

Yes, via power of attorney; the TAPU can be issued remotely. See getting your TAPU remotely.

The verdict on Istanbul

The useful conclusion from this list is not a single project — it is that “Istanbul” hides a 4.8× range in what a square metre costs, and that the range tracks district far more than it tracks building quality. Decide the district first, on commute, side of the Bosphorus and tenant profile. Then compare rates within it.

If you invert that order and shop by headline price, you will end up comparing a 125 m² apartment on the western edge with a 38 m² branded unit on the Bosphorus and concluding they are roughly the same purchase. They are not.

Tell us the district shortlist, or the use case, and we will send rates for specific units rather than entry prices.

Related searches

Property in Türkiye — citizenship, taxes and the buying process. Guides: Turkish citizenship, property tax, returns on Turkish property. Other markets: Oman, UAE, Georgia.