Turkey has maintained stability during the financial crisis and is in the throes of a well-regulated property boom, according to Standard and Poor’s.
For Turkey to receive a credit rating upgrade amongst almost 100 downgrades from Standard & Poor’s is something to be proud of. Careful Government policy has steered Turkey calmly through a turbulent 2009 and decreased its debt levels.
The nation can be confident of a solid financial sector, in spite of external pressures, and according to Standard & Poor’s credit analyst “Turkey’s banking system will be one of the strongest and least-leveraged in Eastern Europe.” The agency even expects to upgrade the country again over the next one to two years should it continue to weather the global turmoil and reduce its dependence on external funding.
Spain meanwhile is the last large world economy to find itself still mired in recession. Its GDP continues to shrink prompting Standard & Poor’s to put the country on a negative outlook in December last year. The agency has little confidence in Spain reducing its Government deficit from 11.4% of GDP to the eurozone limit of 3% and could even apply further downward pressure to its ratings should the authorities not take aggressive action to tackle its weak economic growth and near 20% unemployment.
Daniel Dias for developer Signature International, commented: “At the moment Turkey is certainly in good shape and all of this bodes well for Turkey’s constant endeavour to become part of the EU.”
Source: www.signatureinternational.co.uk www.themovechannel.com
Having just got back from a visit to Turkey I have to say I am very impressed with what they are doing there in terms of tourism. I have heard that Turkey now receives more UK visitors than Spain and I can see why… Even though it was during the winter it was still a compelling place. My first surprise was on the fantastic drive from Milas-Bodrum airport to Altinkum, where I passed a fantastic lake and mountains – which reminded me of Scotland!… This wasn’t what I expected of Turkey at all. Then you pass the Temple of Apollo and come to the beach resort of Altinkum, much larger and more developed than I had expected. The bay of Akbuk is stunning and no brochure can do its tranquility justice, I just cannot wait to go back in the summer!
On the investment front I met the governor of Didim and the mayor of Akbuk to find out what they had planned in terms of commercial and touristic investment and it was great to hear that they appreciate (without my prompting) that it is not just about building apartments and hotels. They grasp the concept of growing their towns into tourist hubs whilst maintaining the essence of peace and natural beauty. Some great ideas were put forward in terms of what they want to do and I am staying in touch with them personally to see how it pans out….
Buy-to-let tourist rentals in Turkey are thriving thanks to a surge of British visitors caused by the favourable exchange rate, an investor has noted.
Libby Garside told the Daily Mail that she and her husband Ted rent out their villa in the Mediterranean coastal resort of Kalkan when they are not holidaying there with their daughters.
Observing a rise in demand from Britons for its use, she said: “More consumers seem to be looking to Turkey as a holiday destination due to rising costs in more traditional European resorts and also because of the terrible sterling to euro exchange rate.”
The paper stated that foreign exchange firms have also seen a rise in the trading of sterling for Turkish lira and Egyptian pounds as tourists look for cheaper alternatives to the eurozone.
In contrast, it observed, the poor return on UK pounds converted into euros is making travel to many traditional destinations more expensive.
Turkish lira could be even less expensive soon as the value is expected to drop with an anticipated cut in the country’s interest rates, overseas investor magazine BuyAssociation has noted.
It said this could effectively make Turkish homes seven per cent cheaper.
Source: Propertyshowrooms.com