As Turkey’s economic crisis turns into a housing crisis, it is becoming more and more difficult to buy and build a house. The construction cost of an apartment, excluding land, which was 1.5 million TL last summer, is now 2 million TL. While prices increased, house sales also decreased by 13 percent, according to the first three months of the year. This decrease in credit sales exceeded 50 percent. While falling purchasing power and decreasing credit supply keep citizens away from their dream of buying a house, the price increases that come with each passing day keep the contractor away from their appetite for building new houses. Industry representatives, who say that cement prices have increased by 43 percent since the holiday, state that this increase is independent of cost and call on the Ministry of Commerce to take action. Industry representatives are discussing protesting by stopping construction.
Cement, which was sold for 1,750 liras for a 50-kilo bag before the Eid, is now sold for 2,500 liras, with a 43 percent increase. In forward purchases, this price goes up to 2 thousand 950 lira. Stating that this increase is an exorbitant increase that cannot be explained by the increase in cost, Construction Contractors Confederation (IMKON) President Tahir Tellioğlu said, “There is opportunism here. The free market does not work either, there is underhand intervention. Unfortunately, the Competition Authority cannot do its job. There are also price increases and supply problems in glass. Our workmanship is also increasing. Our average worker earns twice as much as engineers. When all these are combined, the contractor has no appetite to build housing. “Building a house is getting harder, which makes it harder for our people to buy a house,” he said. Stating that they will hold a meeting as a confederation next week, Tellioğlu stated that all kinds of protest methods, including “stopping construction by reducing employment”, are on the table. Kubilay Salihvatandaş, Secretary General of the Istanbul Constructors Association, said that they expect the government to intervene in these increases and said:
RISK OF BEING INCOMPLETE
“When we heard about the 25 percent increase, we thought it was the costs that were suppressed before the election. But another 43 percent increase upset our balance. We cannot understand the reason for this increase when there is no cost increase. This increase will have a serious impact on rough construction. Prices were already high and will increase further. “While we keep the current prices and wait for a low credit campaign, our costs are increasing every day,” he said.
Ahmet Erkutoğlu, Vice President of the Anatolian Side Builders Association, stated that due to increasing costs and unpredictability, contractors who do their job properly cannot sign new projects, and that citizens are forced to buy and sell small contractors. Erkutoğlu emphasized that this situation could create a crisis of unfinished constructions.
Tags: Contractors preparing protest stating cement prices increased percent days Minute Economic News
