The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye’s House Price Index for September 2026 showed that nominal gains continued in the housing market, while prices remained lower in inflation-adjusted annual terms. The index, which tracks quality-adjusted price changes across Türkiye, rose 1.2% from the previous month. Its nominal annual increase was 22.3%, but the same movement translated into a 5.7% real decline after consumer inflation was taken into account.
According to the central bank report, the House Price Index reached 239.4 in September. The result means that home prices measured in Turkish lira were higher than a year earlier, but their inflation-adjusted value was lower. A real decline does not mean homes became cheaper in nominal lira terms. It means the pace of house-price growth remained below the increase in the overall price level.
Istanbul leads among the three largest cities
Monthly movements differed across Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. The house price index increased by 2.0% in Istanbul, 0.1% in Ankara and 1.0% in Izmir in September. Nominal annual gains were 26.8% in Istanbul, 22.0% in Ankara and 21.0% in Izmir. Istanbul therefore recorded the strongest monthly and annual rise among Türkiye’s three largest cities.
At the regional level, Istanbul also had the highest annual house-price increase, at 26.8%. The lowest annual gain was 15.3% in the region covering Edirne, Kirklareli and Tekirdag. The difference shows why the nationwide headline does not fully describe movements in local markets. Financing conditions, housing supply and the structure of demand can vary between cities, although the central bank release does not provide a separate causal assessment of those factors.
New-tenant rent index rises 26.6% annually
The New Tenant Rent Index included in the report increased 2.1% month on month in September. Its nominal annual gain was 26.6%, while its inflation-adjusted annual change was a decline of 2.4%. Rents in newly established leases therefore rose faster in nominal terms than the nationwide house-price index, but the real measure still remained negative.
Istanbul stood out in new-tenant rents as well. The monthly increase was 3.5% in Istanbul, 0.6% in Ankara and 1.1% in Izmir. Nominal annual increases were 35.5%, 25.1% and 23.7%, respectively. Across the regions covered by the report, Istanbul recorded the highest annual increase in the new-tenant rent index at 35.5%, while the Edirne-Kirklareli-Tekirdag region posted the lowest increase at 18.8%.
The indicators cover different parts of the market
The House Price Index and the New Tenant Rent Index track different parts of the housing market. The first measures quality-adjusted changes in home prices over time, while the second follows rent movements for new tenants. Their percentages should therefore not be used interchangeably. Increases in both indicators also do not mean every home or every existing tenancy changed by the same rate during the period.
Why nominal and real readings diverge
The main message from the September figures is that a lira-denominated increase and an inflation-adjusted change do not have to move in the same direction. Both house prices and new-tenant rents increased in nominal annual terms, yet both measures remained negative in real terms. Assessing the market therefore requires looking beyond the headline nominal rate to inflation-adjusted changes and regional differences.
The House Price Index is not an estimate of the average sale price or value of a home. It measures quality-adjusted price changes over time. September’s results show that house prices continued to rise on a monthly basis across Türkiye, while the annual increase remained below inflation. The separate new-tenant rent measure points to the same broad pattern: a sizable nominal annual increase accompanied by a real decline.
