Real estate agents have been badly affected by the widespread crunch in the construction sector. Many real estate agents, who enjoyed a golden time in 2005 and 2006, are about to go bankrupt.
“For weeks, there have been 39 keys sitting in my office, either for rent or sale. Real estate agents have never experienced such trouble before,” said Mesut Güleroğlu, head of the İzmir Real Estate Agents Society (İZEKO). He also noted that the number of keys at his office for properties waiting to be sold usually do not exceed three or five, and most of them would be gone in 10 days at the most.
There has also been financial contraction in the second-hand housing sector, as the boom in housing loans as well as stagnation in the market has led consumers to act cautiously, which has, in turn, caused the business of real estate agents to stagnate. “In student districts like Bornova and Buca, houses which were worth YTL 700 ($559.85) last year cannot be let out to tenants even for YTL 500 ($399.89) this year. Meanwhile, second-hand apartments cannot be sold even at half price,” said Güleroğlu.
