Home Ownership, Housing Conditions, and the Housing Quality Index in Turkey
Kemal AydınThis study analyzes the rates of home ownership, mortgages, tenancy, and housing conditions in Turkey and European Union countries. Data from the Income and Living Conditions Surveys conducted between 2006 and 2015 in Turkey and the EU-28 have been used in the analysis. Home ownership rate is 70% in the EU-28 and 60% in Turkey. These results indicate a significant housing shortage to exist in Turkey, with the housing sector maintaining its vitality in the near future. The proper level of housing quality is related to quality of life. Turkey has high numbers for the highly developed housing price index. In addition to this price index, a need is found for developing a detailed housing quality index. This article develops a draft for the housing quality index based on the Turkish Statistical Institute’s (TurkStat) Income and Living Conditions Survey by utilizing a total of 16 housing variables. According to results, quality of housing in Turkey is increasing gradually every year.
Türkiye’de Konut Sahipliği, Konut Koşulları ve Konut Kalite Endeksi
Kemal AydınBu çalışmada Türkiye ve Avrupa Birliği (AB) ülkelerinde 2006-2015 yıllarını kapsayan Gelir ve Yaşam Koşulları araştırmalarının verileri analiz edilerek konut sahipliği, kiracılık, konut kredileri ve konut koşulları incelenmiştir. Türkiye’de konut sahipliği ve ipotekli/kredili konut satın alma yüzdeleri AB-28 ortalamasının altında yer almaktadır. Türkiye’de ev sahipliği oranı %60 AB’de ise %70’tir. Gelir düzeyi ve konut sahipliğinde alt gelir grubunda yer alan hanelerin konut sahipliği oranı %40 civarındadır. Sonuçlar, Türkiye’de konut açığının olduğuna ve konut sektörünün ilerleyen yıllarda canlılığını koruyacağına işaret etmektedir. Konut standartlarının uygun düzeyde olması hayat kalitesinin göstergeleri arasında yer almaktadır. Türkiye’de fiyatlandırma ile ilgili konut fiyat endekslerine ilave olarak detaylı konut kalite gösterge endekslerinin geliştirilmesi önem arz etmektedir. Bu makalede TÜİK Gelir ve Yaşam Koşulları mikro veri setinden toplam 16 konut değişkeni kullanılarak bir konut kalite endeksi sunulmaktadır. Endeks sonuçlarına göre konutların nitelikleri yıllar itibarı ile artmaktadır.
This study examines certain indicators regarding homeownership and the conditions and quality of housing as included in the micro-data from the Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) Survey TurkStat carried out between 2006 and 2015 in the context of their relation to socio-economic factors in comparison with the European Union. This study also proposes to develop a housing quality index using 16 variables indicative of housing quality.
The study aims to shed light on the problems to be solved in urban transformation by examining various aspects of the dimensions of housing deprivation in the context of the findings related to Turkey’s housing and living conditions.
When evaluating homeownership, Turkey is seen to have a housing deficit. In particular, cities with a population over 20,000 have a homeownership rate of 50%. The homeownership rate for households in lower-income levels is around 35-40%, while the homeownership rate for households in rural areas is 75%. Homeownership in Turkey lags behind European Union countries. The government should provide support in meeting low-income households’ housing needs by providing loans that are as favorable as possible. Turkey should facilitate homeownership, especially for households in the lower-income segments of urban areas.
40% of the households in Turkey are tenancies. Turkey still has widespread tenancy compared to other countries. A homeownership rate of 70-75% and tenancy rate of 25- 30%, as in the European Union, can be considered as targets for Turkey.
When considering income level apart from the lowest income bracket, not much difference is found in terms of housing conditions among the others; their housing quality index values resemble one another. As such, the lowest income households are the ones facing housing deprivation.
As shown by the results, the housing sector, being an important sector in Turkey, will maintain its vitality as long as conditions remain suitable in the coming years. In addition, Turkey does not appear to have a high probability of crisis due to housing mortgages. Mortgage rates are not high, though they have been increasing annually; while 27% of houses in European Union countries have mortgages, Turkey’s rate is 6%.
Home ownership is not a sufficient condition on its own. The housing condition where one lives is extremely important in terms of quality of life. Living in high standard housing has now become people’s basic need. A low housing standard is defined as housing deprivation. Houses that do not have enough comfort negatively affect people’s quality of life. In this regard, Turkey needs to internalize and institutionalize this need without making any standards concessions while reconciling with the contractors, buyers, and the government that controls them.
In terms of the number of rooms and areas utilized in houses, Turkey ranks higher than European Union averages. The average size of utilized space is 96 m2 in the European Union, while this number is 102.3 m2 in Turkey. In 2006, the quality indicator index scores of households throughout Turkey increased from 102,000 to 108,000; most importantly, the positive growth of 16% from the low-income to middle-income brackets shows socio-economic development to be continuing.
Compared with EU averages, Turkey continues to have heating problems in houses due to insufficient insulation and 23% of houses are unable to receive enough sunlight. Such problems in the European Union are at a minimum level of 5-6%. While 33.4% of the European Union’s population is very pleased with the houses they live in, this rate is only 5.8% in Turkey. About 70% of the population in Turkey has stated being satisfied with their homes, with 26.3% stating being completely unsatisfied.
Turkey has a highly developed housing price index, but this index is limited to pricing. Therefore, developing new indices with diverse quality indicators will positively impact housing standards in Turkey. This article creates a housing quality indicator index using 16 housing variables. According to the index scores, housing quality, which had had a value of 102,208 in 2006, reached 108,684 in 2015, increasing 1,000-2,000 points annually on average.
The research findings indicate no extreme regional inequality to be present in Turkey in terms of housing quality index scores; housing quality standards are close to one another in all regions.
The housing quality index is a measurement and assessment tool that has been designed to evaluate housing in terms of quality rather than cost. Determining prices by measuring the quality of housing and then publishing these will provide customers with significant benefits.
