Statistics refute minister’s remarks: Rent in city centers 10 times higher than minimum wage

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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Bahçeşehir University Economic and Social Research Center (BETAM) has examined the housing rent and sales in the country based on the data of sahibinden.com, an online shopping platform for real estate.

The study has shown that the prices, in both rent and sales, have seen a significant increase in the past year.

A few days ago, Nureddin Nebati, Turkey's newly appointed Minister of Treasury and Finance, said, "Our new minimum wage is 4 thousand 250 lira and 40 kurush; rent in city centers is 1,261 Turkish Lira."

However, the statistics compiled by the BETAM have demonstrated that what the Minister said did not reflect the truth.

Both the BETAM research and a search on the Internet show that rent in city centers may be even 10 times higher than the minimum wage.

For instance, in İstanbul's Beyoğlu district, the lowest rent is 4 thousand 500 Turkish Lira (TRY); however, it is also possible to rent houses for 60 thousand, 45 thousand or 30 thousand TRY in the same district.

Rent on the increase

According to the BETAM report on "Outlook on the Housing Market", the money paid for rent per square meter increased by 58.9 percent to 5.499 TRY across Turkey when compared to the prices in November 2020.

Last year, the average amount of money paid for rent per square meter was 15.3 TRY; this year, it has increased to 25 TRY.

Highest increase in Antalya, İstanbul, Mersin

When all metropolitan cities are considered, it is seen that the money paid for rent has seen the highest annual increase in Antalya (79.2 percent), which is followed by İstanbul (78.8 percent), by Mersin (75 percent), Muğla (71.8 percent) and Ankara (62 percent).

The lowest increase has been observed in Trabzon (23.2 percent), Maraş (20 percent), Van (14.9 percent), Denizli (5.6 percent) and Mardin.

What did the Finance Minister say? Comparing the minimum wages and rents in European countries, Minister Nebati said, "In Berlin, the minimum wage is 1,585 Euro while rent is 1,969 Euro in city center; in Amsterdam, the minimum wage is 1,701 Euro while rent is 2,622 Euro; in Paris; the minimum wage is 1.555 Europe while the rent is 2,750 Euro. In Turkey, our new minimum wage is 4,250.40 lira and the rent in city centers is 1,261 Turkish Lira."

What about sales?

According to the BETAM's study, the money paid for buying a house per square meter has seen the sharpest increase in Mersin province (78.6 percent), which is followed by Aydın (78.4 percent), Muğla (76.5 percent), Urfa (72.8 percent) and Diyarbakır (70.4 percent).

The lowest increase has been observed in Eskişehir (45.4 percent), Kocaeli (45.2 percent), Manisa (41.9 percent), Van (40.3 percent) and Malatya (39.7 percent). (RT/SD)