Istanbul needs more houses as Turkey’s largest city grows

Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, will need 122,000 new homes every year to support its growing population, a PwC report has said.

The city will need 1.22 million houses over the next 10 years with the population expected to rise by 3 percent to 16.2 million by 2034, Hurriyet Daily newspaper reported, citing PwC Turkey.

The growth will be driven by an increase in single-person households, leading to downsizing of housing types.

“The household structure and demographics are changing,” said Ramadan Kumova, chairman of the Housing Developers and Investors Association, which commissioned the report.

He said smaller apartments, such as studio flats, are in higher demand due to smaller average household sizes and more people living alone.

However, the current regulations make it difficult for developers to meet this need and expect the issue to be reviewed, Kumova said.

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Turkey reported the sale of 1.48 million units in 2024,  a 21 percent increase from 2023.

More than 239,000 homes were sold in Istanbul last year, the report said.