Thirst for living in the Mediterranean for Iranians

Iranians have become record holders of property purchases in Turkey. This can be easily seen from the statistics that are recorded in various statistical authorities of Iran and Turkey. But the roots of this behavior are certainly far more important than what is happening in the outflow of capital from Iran. For many years, the economic, political and cultural conditions of Iran have been deteriorating and many people have accumulated their mental, intellectual and, of course, financial assets and traveled from Iran to find their happiness and future outside the country. But now the scope of this migration has shifted from the elite to the ordinary class of society, and many people, for various economic and non-economic reasons, have chosen to move their livelihood to another country, but to seek the path to happiness there.

The story of Iranians buying property in other parts of the world is unprecedented, and in the 1990s, many Iranians in countries such as the UAE or Turkey began to buy and invest in real estate. What is the root of such behaviors by Iranians in the form of home or large purchase investments and in what topics can it be sought?

The root of such behaviors must be sought in the slope of attractiveness between countries, in the sense that more or less attractive countries can act differently in accepting or rejecting investors. In fact, such an issue leads to the citizens of countries with less attractiveness or with more issues and problems, realizing immigration or investing or living in more attractive countries. This attractiveness, in the general sense, has criteria or indicators based on which it can be judged which country is more attractive. Of course, rather than making this judgment, the so-called capital and brains with their feet give a signal of attraction. This means that my information about Turkey or Malaysia or Russia or even some lesser known European countries may not be enough at first, but it is enough to see which countries our citizens emigrate to or which Iranian elites and capitals emigrate the most. Where they invest, and naturally one can easily judge with an initial conclusion that these countries are more attractive than our own, but those who make that decision. They make calculations based on criteria and invest according to their conditions and the conditions of the destination countries. Several things play a pivotal role in this decision-making and measuring the slope of attractiveness. One of these factors is economic issues, based on which a country with a more stable and resilient economy will have higher economic growth rates and lower inflation and unemployment rates. In addition, the minimum wage and per capita income are higher and the labor market is generally available for the specialties of those who immigrate, and these economic factors will determine which countries are more suitable. In many of these indicators, Turkey, which of course is facing economic challenges, is better than our country in the sense that although the inflation rate in Turkey is in double digits, but this inflation is much lower than the inflation rate in Iran. Meanwhile, Turkey’s economic growth rate in the second quarter of 2021 was very high and the country has experienced 21% economic growth. Also, the minimum wage in this country this year has been 400 euros per month, which if we compare it in Iran, the minimum wage of Iranians in 1400 is less than 100 euros.

So it can be said that the minimum wage applied in Turkey is 4 times that of Iran. Meanwhile, some may point out that the cost of living in Turkey is higher than in Iran. But in response to this point, it should be noted that the appropriate measure to compare higher or lower costs is to see how much per capita income is based on the PPP parity index in these two countries. In 2019, this index was $ 13,000 for Iran and $ 14,800 for Turkey. While Turkey’s nominal per capita income is less than twice Iran’s nominal per capita income. This means that the purchasing power of a dollar in Iran is about twice that of Turkey. While the minimum wage is less than a quarter of the country, so wages in Turkey are more attractive than in Iran. Apart from economic factors, we must pay attention to the fact that politically, Turkey is more attractive than Iran. Iran is in a bad position in terms of regional and global politics, sanctions in the last 12 years have severely damaged Iran’s economy and political situation, and Iran’s fragile relations with many countries in general, Iran’s political position from Turkey and destination countries. Immigration of Iranians is considered, it ranks lower. On the other hand, the atmosphere of political participation in Iran has become more limited than before, and this can be clearly seen from the level of people’s participation in the 1998 parliamentary elections and the 1400 presidential elections. These are issues that are important in comparison with Turkey, and of course, with the understanding that Turkey is not without problems in terms of the country’s political characteristics, and the political disputes between the parties of this country have also reached a peak. But the situation is still better than in Iran. Although the Kurds of Turkey and the central power also have differences that have troubled the country on the borders of Turkey with Iraqi Kurdistan and Syria, the weight of Iran’s political differences and unfavorable environment is heavier than that of Turkey. Is. Especially in recent months, when tensions have risen in some of Iran’s neighbors, including Afghanistan, with the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan and unrest in northwestern Azerbaijan and the border with Armenia. Things have gotten worse. Another point to note is that there is a fragile security situation on the borders of Iran and Pakistan, as well as Iraq, and the relatively cold relations that we have with the countries on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf have practically improved the situation in a way that Considering the situation of our neighbors, our internal political situation and the political situation of our region, it is worse than Turkey in terms of stability. In terms of social issues, it should be noted that Turkey is more attractive in terms of social freedoms for different segments of the population, especially since millions of Iranians go to Turkey every year to enjoy the freedoms that are in Iran for religious and legal reasons. There is no way they can benefit, and this is of particular interest to a growing group of Iranians. In the other part, which is the environment and climate of the two countries, the comparison shows that water and environment in Iran are not in good condition and the water war that could take place in the region in the coming years is not in our favor. That is, we need to reach agreements with Afghanistan and Iraq on water resources that, given the Iranian government’s policy in the region and the world, have deprived us of bargaining power against them, so the outlook is that in the coming years it may be in the field. Water, and its implications for air cleanliness and environmental sustainability are challenged, and the attractiveness and desirability of living in some parts of the country are severely reduced.

Iranians have had experience buying real estate in the UAE in the past, and after a while some of them faced challenges in their real estate transactions. How much does this threat also threaten property investors in Turkey?

Regarding the purchase of property, it should be explained that apart from the special attraction that immigration to Turkey with the acquisition of Turkish citizenship has created for Iranians and countries in the region for the reasons I mentioned, and has put Iranians and Iraqis at the top of property buyers. Housing in Tehran and big cities In the last two years, the price of housing in Tehran has become more expensive than in Istanbul, so that in the northern part of Tehran, a newly built apartment has to be bought for between 4 and 10 thousand dollars per square meter. While the apartments that are offered to foreigners in the newly built complexes of Istanbul and built by reputable companies are priced at 2 to 4 thousand dollars per square meter. The legal issues and challenges of real estate transactions are a debate that must be answered by lawyers, but in general I can say that in the UAE and any other country, anyone from unreliable and small companies that were not well-off and could easily go bankrupt due to the recession. they had. Kurdish shopping has this problem, this is also the case in Iran; That is, although reputable manufacturers sell at a higher price, buying from them is less likely to lead to legal disputes and lawsuits.

In the last report of real estate transactions of the Central Bank, in September compared to August, we had about 2.4% growth in the average housing price, which seems to accelerate this trend. What is your forecast?

The main event took place last year and late 1998 and throughout the year 99 and the relatively small increase that has occurred this year. In practice, the adjustment of the housing rate with the relatively high inflation that we have this year. The exchange rate has risen more than the housing rate since the beginning of the year, and reports show that the dollar value of the Tehran housing market has fallen, so that the average dollar value of housing in Tehran is $ 1,100, up from 97 in 1997 when the exchange rate rose. It reached $ 600, but the increase in housing prices in 1998 and 1999 brought the average rate to $ 1,300, and now it is approaching its historical average again, that is, in August, it was an average of 30 million Tomans, which is $ 1,100 with $ 37,000. It will be dollars.

Has another important point in the field of Iranian investment in real estate caught your attention?

One of the most important factors in buying property in Turkey is the validity of the Turkish passport and the low validity of the Iranian passport. Especially with the conditions of sanctions on the one hand and Iran being on the blacklist, as long as you want to leave Iran, having an Iranian passport is a disadvantage. Because many countries do not easily grant visas to Iranians and Iranians can not open accounts in their banks or receive credit cards and in some cases even convert their currency. This has led many to invest in Turkey or Canada or European countries in order to have a more universal passport, or to buy passports from other countries to overcome these barriers. This weakness of Iranian passports and citizenship has created a more serious problem, especially for economic activists and businessmen who need to move their money and circumvent sanctions in the face of sanctions.

The validity of the passport and the complicated situation that has basically acquired Iranian citizenship in recent years is one of the most important factors that lead Iranians to buy property in Turkey. The general feeling of Iranian citizens about the future of Iran and the prospects of Iran is not positive and hopeful, and its comparison with other countries, especially in recent months with the new government and the situation in Iran in the region and the world, has made Iranians more concerned economically. Politically and security-wise it is not clear how the future holds, and the disputes that Iran has with the Atomic Energy Agency are signals that the future is worrying. So the Iranians are trying to have a second base in other countries, and in this situation Turkey has created the best conditions for Iranians and Afghans, Iraqis and Syrians, who, of course, are also the main buyers of housing in that country because they invest and buy property. , Get a passport immediately, while in other countries there is a long time to process the application and grant citizenship to these people. One of the ingenuities of countries in the 21st century is to be able to make their country culturally, racially and ethnically diverse. This diversity will make their country more attractive for living and more tolerant for accepting foreigners, thus attracting economic brains and investments, and accommodating a selection of other ethnicities, nationalities and races.