House sales increased by 19.1 percent in June compared to the same month the previous year, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) reported yesterday. In total, 110,657 houses were sold in Turkey in June. Istanbul had the highest share of the sales as usual with 19.5 percent. Ankara followed Istanbul with 11.6 percent, and Izmir had the third highest share with 6.7 percent. The provinces with the lowest number of house sales were Ardahan with 10 house sales, Hakkari with 13 house sales and Bayburt with 50 house sales -- all cities located in eastern Turkey. In the first half of the year, monthly house sales exceeded those in the previous year. Mortgaged house sales maintained the growing trend in Turkey at 40,503, increasing 26.5 percent in June compared to the same month the previous year. House sales with mortgages had a 36.6-percent share of all house sales in Turkey.

Out of 110,657 houses, 59,455 were second-hand sales, while 51,202 houses were first sales of new constructions. First house sales increased by 20.1 percent in the same period, while second-hand house sales rose by 18.2 percent.

House sales to foreigners were 2,256, an increase of 32.5 percent compared to the same month the previous year.

On the other hand, foreign real estate investments in Turkey declined sharply in the first five months of 2015, with a 22.3-percent decrease compared to the same period last year. According to data released by the Ministry of Economy, foreign real estate investments decreased from $1.683 billion to $1.307 billion.

The highest amount of investments was made in May with $310 million. Investments have gradually increased since January, which amounted to $257 million.

The number of foreign companies founded in the same period has also dropped by 7.9 percent compared to last year. In the first five-month period of 2014, 1,847 companies were founded, which dropped to 1,701 in 2015.