Housing sales in Türkiye soared by 63.6% in November compared to a year ago, official data showed on Wednesday, fueled in part by a threefold increase in mortgaged sales despite elevated borrowing costs.

Some 153,014 units were sold last month, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said. That was lower than the 165,000 houses that exchanged hands in October.

From January through November, sales reached 1.26 million units, a 16.4% year-over-year increase, the data showed.

That surpasses the total sales of almost 1.23 million units in the whole of 2023, with December still to be accounted for.

The highest annual sales on record were 1.5 million units, achieved amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Wednesday's data showed November mortgaged sales soared by 315.7% year-over-year to 21,804 units, attributed primarily to a low base effect. They accounted for 14.2% of the total sales.

The housing market has been mired in a slump since the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) launched aggressive monetary tightening in the second half of last year to curb stubborn inflation that has plagued households.

Annual inflation stood at 47.09% in November, higher than anticipated, potentially diminishing the likelihood of an interest rate cut by the central bank this month.

Inflation has eased from 48.6% in October, moving further away from its peak of 75.45% in May.

Since June last year, the central bank has raised its benchmark policy rate by 4,150 basis points and kept it at 50% since March.

Rate hikes typically lift borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards.

Despite the November spike, the January-September period recorded a 21.3% decline in mortgaged sales, totaling 135,209 units, the TurkStat said.

Sales to foreign buyers declined by 8.2% year-over-year last month, with 2,151 units sold, the data showed. Russian nationals led foreign purchases with 421 units, followed by Iranians (200 units) and Ukrainians (160 units).