Kayseri Tops Housing Sales in Earthquake Zone
According to recent data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute, 8.80% of the house sales made in Turkey in the last month were realized in disaster areas. Among the cities with the highest number of housing sales in the earthquake-affected regions, Kayseri took the lead, followed by Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, and Adana.
Vedat Şimşek, the Founder and General Manager of Global Construction, pointed out that Kayseri was severely affected by the earthquake and several aftershocks that followed, leading to a change in the preferences of homebuyers. The citizens of Kayseri are now inclined to move to regions where the earthquake risk is the least, and hence, the demand for high-rise buildings is decreasing while the demand for detached houses is increasing. This trend is also seen in other provinces of Turkey; however, the option of detached houses is not possible in crowded cities like Istanbul and Izmir, leading to demand for low-rise buildings.
Vedat Şimşek emphasized the importance of complying with earthquake regulations not only in Kayseri but also in all cities of Turkey to ensure the safety of the citizens. He shared his views on the points to be considered in the construction of buildings, emphasizing the importance of designing projects that are compatible with the ground survey report. According to Vedat Şimşek, buildings’ construction should not be allowed in areas where the fault line passes directly.
Finally, he stated that correctly inspected buildings do not collapse even if they are damaged in disasters. To achieve this, long-term technical and financial planning by working with professional organizations and the private sector under the leadership of official institutions is necessary.
