New actors in Turkish housing market, foreigners: Bursa case

The amount of engagement and interest shown by Iranians in the Turkish property market has dramatically expanded over the past few years. Our research area, Bursa, is one of the four largest cities in Turkey for the inflow of foreign direct investment in real estate and one of the two largest cities in Turkey for Iranian immigrants. The settlement and site selection mechanism in Bursa served as an example for the purpose of this study, which investigated the effect that Iranian real estate acquisition has had on the housing market in Turkey. This goal was accomplished by way of a procedure that consisted of two stages. Following an analysis of the pertinent prior research, a survey was carried out among Iranians who had just purchased a home. The in-depth interview method was used to determine whether the residential areas chosen by Iranians in the city and the characteristics of the residential areas they prefer, the residential environments created, and whether or not they meet the requirements. These findings are a direct result of the surveys that were conducted. As a result of the interviews, we were able to explore the reasons why Iranians prefer Bursa to buy properties, the reasons for their preferences for the neighbourhoods they live in, whether they engage in local mobility, and the reasons for relocating to Bursa. During the face-to-face survey that was carried out between the 15th of April and the 15th of September 2022, 148 Iranians who had purchased homes in the central districts of Bursa (Nilüfer, Osmangazi, and Yıldırım) after 2012 were questioned regarding the demographic characteristics of their households as well as their level of agreement with 41 statements using a 9-point Likert scale. In light of the results of the questionnaires, the statistical data are analysed by means of the SPSS program, and the results of factor analysis are used to assess the nature of the connections between the variables. In order to study the cause-and-effect relationship that exists between the dependent variable and the independent variables, a binary logistic regression analysis is performed because the dependent variable in question has a response that can only be one of two possible states. According to the findings of the research, Iranians have indicated a strong preference for settling in Bursa since the city provides a contemporary way of life, as well as thoughtful planning of residential zones and high-quality housing structures. Iranians are primarily concentrated in the center districts that have the highest level of socioeconomic development and accessibility in comparison to other districts, as well as in the districts that stand out for their planned urbanization project.