NURİYE DOĞU
ISTANBUL – Radikal
Prestigious, luxury residences alongside the Bosphorus in Istanbul are slowly but surely changing hands. Varying between $10 million and $100 million in price, these villas have started to receive great interest from businesspeople hailing from Anatolian cities. The Bursa-based Türkün Holding has recently purchased a villa on the Bosphorus
Bosphorus-view luxury villas, well known for their high prices, are attracting attention of businesspeople especially from Anatolian companies.
Being mostly on the Anatolian side of Istanbul, the waterside villas, varying between $10 million and $24 million in price, have been receiving high demand. Their enigmatic histories and the length of quays are the main attraction points for those looking to buy a waterside villa.
A boom in interest has been observed for the villas over the past four months, according to Sinem Ayıkcan Yılmaz, an expert of villas at Ayıkcan Emlak, a real estate agency.
Ayıkcan Emlak is currently conducting “secret” sales negotiations for four waterside villas that are not on the market, Yılmaz said. “We offer these villas, each worth between $25 million and $58 million, to our special customers.”
Owning a Bosphorus villa is a “prestige booster,” she said, adding that the global economic crisis did not create an obstacle for the buyers of these luxury homes. The sales are not announced to the public, as such a move may result in a “loss of prestige” for the former owner, according to Yılmaz.
Anatolian interest in Bosphorus villas has become perfectly visible, according to Cem Sallı, a real estate consultant at Coldwell Banker Bravo. As capital changes hands – from the so-called Istanbul elite to Anatolia’s dynamic companies – these villas have also begun to be transferred as well, according to Sallı.
There are currently more than 100 villas “secretly on sale” alongside the Bosphorus, according to Sallı. “The interest is mostly from the northwestern province of Bursa, followed by İzmir and Ankara,” he said. “We also brokered for a businessman from the southeastern city of Diyarbakır for his house purchase. That residence sold for $10 million.”
The Erbilgin residence, owned by the Erbilgin family and located in Yeniköy, Istanbul, is regarded as the most attractive house on the Bosphorus. The residence has been waiting for a buyer for a long time, with a price tag of $100 million.
A status indicator
Large families such as Koç, Sabancı, Demirören, Ülker, Kıraç, Boyner and Doğan have villas alongside the Bosphorus. The Kont Ostrorog residence, owned by Rahmi Koç, is one of the most attractive and worth nearly $100 million.
Ferit Şahenk, chairman of Turkey’s Doğuş Group, Ali Ağaoğlu, board chairman of the Ağaoğlu Group and Güler Sabancı, chairwoman of Sabancı Holding, are some of the other businesspeople who own Bosphorus villas.
Confirming demand from Anatolia, Muhterem İlgüner, a brand consultant, said buying a Bosphorus residence is a status indicator. “Anatolian capital wants to impose itself on Istanbul. To buy a Bosphorus villa is the way to say ‘I am also here.’ Anatolian companies are proving themselves as they get stronger,” İlgüner said.
Three more houses on the Bosphorus have been sold for a total of $39.2 million during the past few weeks. The Clifton house was purchased by Aziz Torun, president of Torunlar Group, for $11.5 million. Koza İpek Holding’s chairman Akın İpek purchased a house in Bebek while Erol Türkün, owner of Bursa-based Türkün Holding, has become the owner of a waterside villa for $6.2 million in Anadoluhisarı.
Hasan Aslanoba, partner of Bursa’s Erikli, also purchased a villa in Kandilli for 16 million euros in June.
Sales conducted secretly
Transfers of Bosphorus villas are made secretly, according to Ulvi Özcan, from real estate agency Turyap Çengelköy. “The most expensive house we have is the Abud Efendi waterside residence in Kandilli, where two famous Turkish television series, Gümüş and Kurtlar Vadisi, were shot.” The villa was put up for sale by the two daughters of the late businessman İsmail Özdoyuran, but according to Özcan, customers find the $45 million tag expensive.
Noting that foreigners are also interested in Bosphorus villas, Özcan said Gulf Arabs have especially been displaying great interest, but “they cannot buy due to the property ban imposed on foreigners.” Russian and Iranian nationals have also shown interest in these villas, according to Özcan.
Nearly 10 watersides villas in Istanbul were secretly sold during 2009. The Yedi Sekiz Hasan Paşa residence in Kanlıca was sold to Nezih Barut, board chairman of pharmaceuticals firm Abdi İbrahim, for nearly 20 million Turkish Liras. A waterside residence in Bebek and another in Kanlıca neighborhoods were sold for $18 million and 27 million liras, respectively, and the historical Yüzüklü house in Beykoz was sold to Yaşar Dalkıran, owner of the Dalkıran Group, for 13 million liras.