When foreign capital flows to Turkey began to slow down after 2015, Ankara came up with the idea of citizenship perks. A regulation published in the Official Gazette in January stipulated that foreign nationals who make an investment of at least $2 million in Turkey or buy a home worth at least $1 million and keep it for at least three years would be awarded Turkish citizenship without any other conditions. The regulation covered also those who create at least 100 new jobs or deposit at least $3 million in banks in Turkey for at least three years or purchase government bonds worth at least $3 million and keep them for at least three years.

Since then, the greatest impact of the citizenship benefit seems to have been on realty sales. If foreigners continue to buy at the same pace by the end of 2017, Turkey may well close the year with a record in this sector.

According to Ministry of Economy figures, home purchases accounted for half of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Turkey in the January-September period. In the first nine months of 2016, Turkey had attracted slightly more than $9 billion in FDI, including $2.9 billion that went to real estate, which represented 32.6% of the total. In the same period this year, the total worth of FDI fell to about $7.3 billion, but realty purchases rose to $3.68 billion or about 50.2% of the total, marking the first time that real estate purchases have outstripped other FDI.

The real estate sector may have a reason to celebrate, but the overall outlook for foreign investments is far from rosy. The statistics speak of a roughly 40% decline in non-realty FDI — from about $6 billion in the first nine months of 2016 to $3.66 billion in the same period this year.