Turkey's Central Bank reports reserve boost and housing market shock

Turkey Central Bank foreign reserves housing market earthquake impact rental price surge

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (TCMB) released a study on the 2023 earthquakes, finding a strong demand shock in the rental housing market. The surge was most pronounced for larger and newly built apartments and in provinces close to the quake zones or with existing migration networks, while commercial real‑estate saw no significant effect.

In its weekly financial report for the week ending 10 July, the TCMB said official foreign‑exchange reserves rose 2.3 % to $163.3 billion, driven by a 9.5 % jump in foreign‑currency assets to $59.4 billion. Gold reserves fell 1.6 % to $96.2 billion; IMF/SDR holdings reached $7.7 billion. Short‑term foreign‑exchange liabilities changed only marginally.

Banking‑sector data showed total credit volume at about 26.8 trillion lira and deposits near 30 trillion lira. Consumer credit grew to 3.4 trillion lira, with housing loans accounting for roughly 807 billion lira. The sector’s capital adequacy (KKM) balance fell by 31 million lira to 205 million lira.

Housing price and rent indexes for June rose sharply: the Housing Price Index (KFE) increased 2 % month‑on‑month to 231.5, up 24.5 % year‑on‑year (real terms down 5.8 %). The New Tenant Rent Index (YKKE) rose 2.3 % month‑on‑month and 29.2 % year‑on‑year, with the strongest gains in the Hatay‑Kahramanmaraş‑Osmaniye region.