Increased Trade with US to Boost Turkish Property Market

The US Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke has praised Turkey’s economic performance during the last few years and especially it's growing economic ties with the US, but still feels that the two countries can do a lot more trading.

The trade between the two countries reached $15 billion last year which was up 40% from 2009. Part of the reason for this impressive figure is Turkey’s quick recovery from the global financial crisis. Turkish GDP contracted by 4.7% in 2009, but swiftly recovered to grow by 8.9% during the first three quarters of 2010, and 6.4% for the year.

America may be on its financial knees but it, like almost every developed country is seeing the gap between rich and poor widen. As we pass the worst of the crisis, America's wealthy are back out there buying more and more overseas property.

Many buyers are hoping to rent out their property, either as a pure investment or when they are not using it themselves. This makes property in Turkey, with its economic stability and growth a favorite, and the potential for increasing trade concessions between the two is only serving to further whet investors' appetites.

The Framework for Strategic Economic and Commercial Cooperation was launched by the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan and US President Barack Obama in December 2009. Gary Locke said that this framework is increasing the dialogue between the two countries at the highest level of both governments.

He was speaking at the recent meeting which took place with the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) and the Centre for American Progress (CAP) in Washington. TUSKON was established six years ago but has already been extremely useful for promoting economic development in Turkey, and has had an office in Washington since autumn 2007.

Locke also said that the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee which is a government wide working group in the US, has identified Turkey as a priority market and will send trade missions to the country later this year. These meetings will involve US oil and gas company representatives and those from renewable energy companies as America is particularly interested in the Turkish energy market.

The Obama administration is helping Turkey to achieve its goals of renewable energy, and it is hoped that these meetings will help the economic development goals that are already in place.

Turkey is heavily reliant on foreign supplies of energy but is hoping to become self-sufficient by 2023 which is the centennial of the modern state. The country intends to invest $150 billion in energy over the next 10 years.

The president of TUSKON has said that the alliance between the two countries is not a natural one as there are no borders or free trade agreements in place, and the president of CAP John Podesta agreed that there is still a lot of room for improvement in the American-Turkish economic relations.

Undoubtedly there is massive potential for growth in investments in Turkey, and this prospect promises to bring another arm of growth into Turkish property, as more and more people will look to move to the country permanently to start up hopefully very lucrative companies.

Podesta also said that Turkey's ascension onto the world stage could not have come at a better time as the country has an increasingly important role to play as a regional power and also as a guide to those countries undergoing democratic transition. This growing prominence of Turkey on the world stage is increasing confidence further still, that Turkey is here to stay as a world player of the present day. Investors are seeking to get in now before the near-inevitable growth to developed market pricing.

Article written by Aydin Cakir - Director of New Home in Turkey. Antalya property agency offering properties accross Turkey.