Developer Agaoglu building flagship Maslak 1453 towers in Istanbul

With Turkey new reciprocity law having come into effect last year, non-Turkish buyers can grab a slice of the country's property offerings.

Maslak 1453 is Agaoglu's flagship project in Istanbul. Courtesy Agaoglu
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Straddling East and West, Asia and Europe, Turkey has the privilege of claiming the best of both worlds.
And with the nation's new reciprocity law coming into effect last year, non-Turkish buyers can now grab a slice of the country's property offerings.
Opening up the market has led some of the nation's bigger real-estate companies to set up offices outside the country to attract foreign buyers.
Among the cities at the forefront of a potential property boom is Istanbul. One of the city's more ambitious projects comes from the developer Agaoglu, which opened its first international office in Dubai in March.
Its flagship project Maslak 1453 is located in Istanbul close to the Fatih Forest in the north of the city.
A complex of 24 towers featuring 4,147 studios and apartments with one to three bedrooms and 500 commercial units, the project also features shopping and recreational facilities.
A further 642 Terrace Residences in four blocks have direct access to an avenue called Cadde 1453 that runs the length of the complex.
Stores, boutiques, restaurants and art galleries will line the avenue.
A loft apartment with a terrace in the residential towers comes in at around US$1 million. Those on the higher floors of the 42-storey tower offer views of the Bosphorus.
Spread over 374 square metres, the loft apartments will be available in September.
"Residential and office transportation for the entire project is designed in a manner that would not intersect with the shopping and visitor traffic," says the developer's brochure.
Shopping areas in the complex will be centred around two community spaces or squares, measuring 12,000 square metres and 28,000 sq metres. The shopping mall will include a cinema while other theatre spaces are equipped to host concerts and international entertainment groups.
 
Questions and answers:
Who is buying properties in Istanbul's Maslak 1453 development?
Most of the buyers are from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait besides Iran and Afghanistan, says Idris Demirhan, the regional manager of Agaoglu in Dubai. Earlier this year, the developer sold 469 properties, or 10 per cent of all properties in the project, to a Saudi businessman at a cost of US$190.7 million, according to media reports.
What is the total land size of the development?
It's 1.7 million square metres, with 5,322 units, including residences and commercial areas. There are 4,789 residential units.
Why invest in Turkey?
Turkey passed a law last May that allowed foreigners to buy property in the country in all areas except those designated as military zones. Under the reciprocity law, residents of 183 countries can now acquire property in Turkey. While buying property in the nation was permitted before, buyers were restricted by nationality.
How has the market responded?
This has brought cheer to real-estate companies, which are trying to leverage the new regulation. The supply, however, of luxury properties in Turkey is still low and most are located in Istanbul and Bodrum, a resort area in the south-western part of the country. Since the law was passed, Agaogluhas sold 3,000 units in various projects and brought in $700m for the company, Mr Demirhan says.
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