The Turkish Lira and Property Prices for Foreign Buyers (2026)

The Turkish lira has lost more than 90% of its value against the US dollar since the end of 2017: one dollar bought about 3.77 lira then and about 48.9 lira on 29 September 2026, according to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (TCMB). For a buyer paying in dollars, euros or Gulf currencies, this does not make Turkish homes automatically cheap, because lira prices have also risen quickly. What matters is how prices move in your own currency, and that depends on the gap between house-price growth and the lira's fall.

This page replaces our earlier articles on the lira in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2021. The history is kept briefly at the end.

The lira against the dollar since 2018

The table uses the TCMB indicative USD buying rate on the last business day of each year.

Two things stand out:

• 2018, 2021 and 2023 were the sharpest years, marked by the 2018 currency crisis, the 2021 interest-rate cuts, and the months around the 2023 elections.
• Since 2024 the fall has been slower and steadier. The dollar's lira price rose 19.8% in 2024 and 21.4% in 2025, while consumer prices rose 44.38% and 30.89% (TÜİK, December on December). In other words, the lira has been gaining in real terms even while it loses value in nominal terms.

Why it matters if you pay in foreign currency

When you buy a home in Turkey, the price is usually set in lira (some developers also quote in dollars or euros). Your cost in your own currency depends on two moving parts:

1. The lira price of the property, which follows construction costs, land values and inflation.
2. The exchange rate on the day you pay.

If lira prices rise faster than the dollar's lira price, homes become more expensive for a dollar buyer, even though the lira is falling. If they rise more slowly, homes become cheaper in dollars. Both have happened in the last few years.

How house prices moved

The TCMB house price index shows that the price boom of 2020–2023 has cooled:

• In July 2026, house prices in Turkey were 25.0% higher than a year earlier in lira, but 5.1% lower in real terms after inflation.
• Rents for new tenants rose faster: +28.4% nationally and +32.4% in Istanbul over the same period.

Over the same twelve months, the dollar's lira price rose by roughly 17% (TCMB rates at the end of July 2025 and July 2026). A rough calculation from these two figures suggests Turkish house prices rose by around 7% in dollar terms. This is an indicative estimate, not an official figure; individual projects and districts can differ widely. For the full picture see our article on house prices in Turkey.

Foreign demand is small next to local demand. According to TÜİK, foreigners bought 21,534 homes in 2025, 1.3% of all sales, compared with a record 67,490 in 2022. The currency alone did not keep foreign sales high once the citizenship threshold and prices went up. The details are in our foreign buyer statistics.

The currency exchange document

Since 24 January 2022, a foreign individual who buys property in Turkey must present a currency exchange document (döviz alım belgesi) at the land registry office, according to the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre (TKGM). In practice:

• You sell your foreign currency to a bank operating in Turkey, which sells it on to the Central Bank, and the bank issues the document.
• The document shows your name, your passport or foreign ID number and the amount exchanged.
• The exchanged amount is linked to the transaction value on the title deed.
• If you are applying for citizenship, you also need a bank receipt showing the transfer from buyer to seller.

A citizenship purchase also needs a valuation report by a licensed appraiser. Plan the exchange with your bank and your consultant before the title deed appointment, so the rate you get and the document match the sale.

Practical advice

• Do not buy to speculate on the currency. Nobody can predict the exchange rate reliably. Choose a property you would still want if the lira stayed where it is today.
• Compare prices in your own currency. Look at recent sales in the same project or district, converted at the rates of the day, rather than lira price growth.
• Lira or dollar payment plans. Many developers offer interest-free instalments. A plan fixed in lira means later instalments cost you less if the lira keeps weakening, but more if it strengthens in real terms; developers often price that risk in. A plan fixed in dollars or euros removes the currency risk from your side. Ask for both options and compare the total cost.
• Time the exchange, not the market. Exchange your money close to the payment date, only as needed, and keep the bank documents from every transfer.
• Account for the costs in lira. The title deed fee (4% of the declared price, usually shared 2% / 2%), VAT where it applies, and a valuation report, if you need one, are all charged in lira. See our Buyer Guide.
• Check your citizenship value on the right date. If you are buying for citizenship, the property must be worth at least USD 400,000, and the value is checked in dollars. See Citizenship by Investment.

What this means for buyers

The lira's fall gives foreign buyers an advantage only when prices in lira rise more slowly than the currency weakens, as they did in dollar terms in some periods and not in others. Today, with house prices falling in real terms and the lira weakening more slowly than inflation, the picture is mixed and depends on the project. Our team can show you recent prices in your currency for the districts you are considering. Contact us or browse properties in Istanbul.

History: the lira from 2015 to 2021

• 2015: the dollar climbed towards 3 lira; the TCMB rate was about 2.95 on 24 August 2015.
• 2016: after a volatile year, the rate passed 3.50 lira in December 2016 (3.51 on 2 December).
• January 2017: the dollar reached about 3.76 lira on 10 January 2017, so one Saudi riyal (pegged at 3.75 per dollar) was worth about one lira for the first time.
• 2021: the Central Bank cut its policy rate from 19% to 18% on 23 September 2021 and continued cutting in the following months. The dollar went from about 8.66 lira on 23 September to about 17.47 lira on 20 December 2021 (TCMB rates). Many foreign buyers took the opportunity; foreign home sales reached their record the following year.

Sources

• TCMB, indicative exchange rates (archive), USD buying rates for 24 Aug 2015, 2 Dec 2016, 10 Jan 2017, 29 Dec 2017, year-end 2018–2025, 23 Sep 2021, 20 Dec 2021, 31 Jul 2025, 31 Jul 2026 and 29 Sep 2026
• TCMB, House Price Index (July 2026)
• TKGM, announcement on the currency exchange document for foreign buyers
• TÜİK, House Sales Statistics
• TÜİK, Consumer Price Index (December 2024 and December 2025), as reported by Euronews Türkçe