Turkey luxury homes turn real estate nightmares | DW Stories

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Please watch the video and read the transcript.


Transcript:

It's a touch of Disneyland, deep in the rural province of Bolu in northwestern Turkey. Hundreds of little castles, in fact, luxury houses with pointy towers and fairytale charm, if it wasn't for the barbed wire and the fact that they're all empty and just aren't selling. 

Situated halfway between Istanbul and Ankara, the region is popular with tourists who like hiking in the vast forests here.

A Turkish developer spent over $100,000,000 building homes for Arab customers.

"The inspiration for the project came from our work in Kuwait and the Gulf countries. We talked with our customers there and came up with more than one design based on their demands. The choice in the end was for a design like this."

While the outcome is certainly a matter of taste, the economic situation in Turkey is clearly bad. The economy is retracting, the lira falling. Few people here are willing to spend up to $500,000 for a villa. That puts Mezher Yerdelen in a bind. His Sarot Group is seeking bankruptcy protection. He says local factors are to blame. 

"This project is three kilometers from the city center in an area that's not suitable for agriculture. But despite obtaining all the approvals and permission for this project, we've seen a lot of bad press that has pitted the locals against us."

Indeed, many here don't like the castles.

"We don't want these properties here. We don't want those houses designed to be sold to foreigners."

It seems the foreigners won't be coming after all. For years, the housing market in Turkey was strong. Now, it seems too many homes have been built. Hard times for the construction sector adding to the region's economic woes.


Expressions:

  • retract = to draw or shrink back
  • lira = the basic unit of money in Turkey
  • villa = a large and usually luxurious country residence
  • bad press = if someone or something gets bad press, they are criticized, especially in the newspapers, on television, or on radio
  • pit against = to cause (someone or something) to fight or compete against (another person or thing)
  • economic woes = a condition of great misfortune or distress related to economy



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