Developers and real estate agents have seen demand for property in Turkey continue throughout 2009, though at a much slower pace than in 2007 and the first half of 2008. Turkey has benefited massively from robustness in its financial sector, owing to the fact that the country had already adopted most of the measures others were forced to when its financial sector almost collapsed in 2001.

This meant that while mortgages became a figment of many overseas buyers’ imaginations in 2009, getting a mortgage on Turkish properties remained much the same as it had been previously. That is to say: mortgages are available on completed properties that the bank can independently value.

The Turkish property market is very much fuelled by its burgeoning tourism industry, turkey real estate which saw the country receive over 28million visitors in 2008. The tourism industry is another that barely suffered in the crunch, not least because the pound weakening massively against the Euro forced many brits to look outside the euro-zone for their summer holiday needs.

Though finalised figures have yet to be released, several statistical reports released recently suggest a slight growth in the number of British visitors to Turkey, a slight growth in overall visits to Istanbul, and ranging from a slight fall to a marginal growth in tourism for the country as a whole last year.

Now that demand for overseas property is really starting to see accelerated growth again, with the Euro still strong, property in Turkey is well placed to become one of the biggest sellers in 2010. There is the possibility that Turkey could suffer from its lack of bargains, with property prices holding in much of the country. However, this is unlikely to be hugely noticeable because of the fantastic value for money on offer in properties for sale in Turkey.

Studio apartments in Turkey start from £20-25k, 1 bedrooms from about £30k and 2 bedrooms from about £40k, but you can buy an incredible 2 bedroom villa by the beach for less than £100k if you know where to look. The value for money is made even greater for British buyers because of the exchange rate: while the Euro strengthened against the pound, so did the lira, with 1 pound being worth just 2.30 lira in April.

This changed very quickly over the next month as the pound went up to 2.52, shearing some 11% off the value of Turkish property to British buyers. Since then the pound has largely kept its strength but for a few blips, and with the wisest investors buying at the high points to get instant equity locked into their purchase. So, with the Turkish government hoping to hit the 30million visitors target this year, and economic forecasts of 3.5% growth from the World Bank, property in Turkey is looking like having a very good 2010.