Turkey’s housing rental market showed further signs of stabilization as annual inflation for newly rented homes slowed to 29.21% in June, marking the lowest level in 58 months, according to data released by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT).
The latest figures indicate that rental price pressures are easing after several years of sharp increases, while Turkish households are also showing reduced interest in purchasing gold as an investment.
Real Rental Prices Decline
The central bank reported that real rental prices, adjusted for inflation, declined by 2.2% compared with the same period last year, suggesting that the burden on tenants has eased despite continued nominal rent increases.
Nominal price growth refers to increases measured in current currency values without adjusting for inflation, whereas real price growth reflects actual changes in purchasing power after inflation is taken into account.
Inflation Expectations Continue to Ease
The findings come from the CBRT’s household expectations survey, which included 3,251 households.
According to the survey, expected inflation over the next 12 months fell to 44.94% in July, down 1.19 percentage points from the previous month.
Expectations for house price growth also declined, with households forecasting residential property prices to rise by 32.49% over the coming year, a decrease of 1.33 percentage points.
Despite improving expectations, respondents continued to identify food, fuel, and energy as the categories that experienced the largest price increases over the past year and are expected to remain the strongest drivers of inflation in the months ahead.
Higher Dollar Exchange Rate Expectations
The survey also showed that households expect the U.S. dollar to reach 52.98 Turkish lira over the next 12 months, representing an increase of 0.31 lira compared with the previous month’s forecast.
Demand for Gold Weakens
Household appetite for gold investment declined, with the share of respondents identifying gold as their preferred investment falling to 40.3%, down four percentage points from the previous survey.
Nevertheless, official figures indicate that the total value of gold holdings in Turkey exceeded $750 billion in 2025, an exceptionally high level considering the country’s gross domestic product of approximately $1.57 trillion.
The Central Bank estimates that nearly $600 billion worth of gold is held by households and businesses outside the banking system, reflecting Turkey’s long-standing tradition of using gold as a safe haven to preserve wealth and protect savings against inflation and economic uncertainty.
