The risks of investing in Turkish real estate will loom less large as long as the presidential and parliamentary elections pass off in an orderly fashion and Turkey remains a stabile in 2008, Ali Zeki Pamir, director of DTZ Pamir & Soyeur told the Mapic international retail real estate fair on Wednesday.

The risks of investing in Turkish real estate will loom less large as long as the presidential and parliamentary elections pass off in an orderly fashion and Turkey remains a stabile in 2008, Ali Zeki Pamir, director of DTZ Pamir & Soyeur told the Mapic international retail real estate fair on Wednesday.

Levent Eyuboglu, ceo of Multi Turkmall, was even more enthusiastic, saying that Turkey offers great advantages for investors, developers and retailers. Pamir said initial yields were now at 7-7% in Turkey and his view is that these figures will only decline if the risks for financing also declined. This would require Turkey proving, including politically, that it is fully stabile.

Eyuboglu said Turkey's size, 783,562 km² with a population of 73 million, afforded great economy of scale. It is big enough for retailers to open multiple premises and gave investors and developers the room to embark on more projects. In addition, Turkey can be used as a hub in the region to link up with Bulgaria, the Middle East and even Georgia, if the economy there picks up. The growing number of youth people in Turkey offered retailers opportunities in several areas, including fashion, children’s products and furniture. Purchasing power is also on the increase.

The one major issue is the lack of product in Turkey, resulting in an investor having to get involved in projects right from the start, he said.