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Istanbul is a famous metropolis situated in the center of the ancient world amongst historical ruins and amazing natural scenery. It’s th e only city in the world that is established on both the continents of Asia and Europe, and divided by the narrow sea passage of the magnificent Bosporus.

With more than 2,500 years of history, and the creation of strategic embrace of sea and land, it has become a major center for trade.

Istanbul is situated on a peninsula, bordering its 3 sides is the Marmara Sea, Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. It has been a capital of three Empires, namely the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Turks, over a span of 1600 years, whilst changing hands of over 120 Sultans and Emperors.

Historical Istanbul is the only city in the world that is unique to these characteristics.

It’s a place where the center of Turkey’s import and export, entertainment, culture, education, shopping, tourism and arts activities reside. Istanbul is becoming more and more colorful in its rich social, cultural and trade activities.

It is also, by far the most liveliest region in the real estate sector.

If the real estate market has slown down in parallel with both the Turkish and Global markets, there is certainly no drop in prices in the most expensive districts of Istanbul. New residential projects are surfacing in the districts that have carried their expensive, high-end position and appearance for many years, tieing in new residential developments.

Many of these added neighborhoods are mainly on the Asian side of Istanbul.

The neighborhoods of Acarlar and Cavusbasi in the district of Beykoz are attracting attention with rental rates of 4,000 YTL (aprx. 2,100) per month.

According to research, 11 of the 20 additional neighborhoods are within the district of Besiktas.

It has been established that the average monthly rental rates in Besiktas are 2,161 YTL (aprx. 1,150).

The land prices continue to rise in Istanbul and its surrounding regions; the economic heart of Turkey.

The market is drawing attention as the land prices in USD, have increased 10 fold within the last 3 years. Land in the regions offering the least rewards are even doubling.

The return on land is therefore much higher than the dollar, gold and stock exchange.

One of the reasons for the price increases is due to the upcoming planning permissions that will be applied within many new areas of Istanbul. The investors are in search for land for the purpose of constructing residential developments and shopping centres, but as land is somewhat scarce, there is not a lot of production gonig on, and the existing regions are making the premiums.

The most valuable route from the prospective of land, is the Levent-Maslak line.

Generally the best premiums for land in Turkey is in this region. The district of Riva is ahead again as the shinning star in the last period.

Real estate experts state that this will be one of the regions as the center of attention in the coming years.

It is already begun attracting foreign investors. Nowadays, residential developments, apart hotels and luxury homes are what’s in style.

The preferred locations are in the city centres.

The attraction of city centres is due to its higher level of prestige, very good sales potential and profit margins. The districts offering the highest returns in the Asian side of Istanbul are: Cekmekoy, Alemdag, Sarigazi, Omerli, Maltepe, Kartal, Pendik, Kurtkoy, and Gebze.

On the European side of Istanbul are the districts of Sariyer, Zekeriyakoy, Catalca, Silivri, Beylikduzu, Beyoglu, Kagithane, Gaziosmanpasa, and Dolapdere.

An example of a new district on the rise, located on the Asian side of Istanbul, presenting a contemporary city planning, is Kurtkoy. With its infrastructure in place; from the prespective of its stable ground, Kurtkoy is considered one of the most secure places against earthquakes.

In a very short period of time, Kurtkoy will become one of the newer districts of attention because of its International airport, marinas, 3rd largest exhibition centre and industrial facilities.

Kurtkoy reached its fame, as the region that holds the distance between laps at the Formula 1 Istanbul Park racetrack. Protecting Istanbul’s metropolitan build and natural beauty, situated along the coast, Tuzla is another district grabbing the attention of investors.

Based on rental income, Tuzla is one of two regions that offers capital returns within 13 years and 11 months, according to experts.

In the last little while, the rental housing prices are becoming comparable to other luxury districts. With its modern city structures, Tuzla is also becoming an attraction with investors in the last periods.

Recently another region in Istanbul that has drawn attention in real estate investments, offering very good premiums, is Beylikduzu.

This region has built up an excellent variety of residential projects in the last period. The rapidly increasing shopping centres has made the region centrally appealing.

Atasehir has proven its quality since it won the International award “City within a City” in 1996.

Situated on the Asian side of Istanbul, Atasehir is a modern living centre. It addresses higher income individuals and families with its luxury housing.

Due to its large variety of developments, it’is quite easy to find a property suitable to many different interests.

Lastly, the district of Nisantasi, with its rich history and social mosaic and rich displays, continues to hold its place as being the most prominent district of Istanbul. The most expensive rental rates in Turkey are in this district.

No matter how high the rental rates are in Nisantasi, it carries the feature of being Istanbul’s most prestigious housing areas.

While extensively following the Istanbul real estate market trends, euroMedt has conducted in depth research on these premium making regions. For more information and a list of our private development offers from these areas, please contact us with your inquiries.

general@euromedt-turkey.com Important Site links:

Foreign ownership in Turkey is ruled by the reciprocity principle. Citizens of countries that allow Turkish citizens or legal entities to own property in their country are allowed to acquire property in Turkey.

Citizens of most EU countries (except for Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic and Slovakia), the United States, Canada and other countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa can freely purchase properties in Turkey.

Foreign nationals also face restrictions on acquiring properties within municipal areas with less than 2000 registered inhabitants (article 87 of Village Act). Foreigners are also not allowed to purchase properties in the confines of military zones (Military Prohibited and Security Areas Act).

On 07 January 2006, a new law was enacted which put a limit to the amount of land that a foreigner can purchase.

Foreigners are allowed to acquire a maximum of 30 hectares (74 acres) of real estate. Any piece of land exceeding 30 hectares requires a permit from the Turkish authorities.

A 10 to 25 deposit is needed during the initial stage of property acquisition, i.e., upon signing of the purchase contract.

Permission for sale needs to be acquired by sending the deeds of property and passport translations of the buyer to the local Army Headquarters for approval. The permission for sale usually takes six to eight weeks to secure.

Once the permission of sale is secured, the transfer of title of deed (“TAPU”) is done at the local Land Registry Office.

Having a solicitor to do the conveyancing is not a legal requirement, but it is highly recommended. Notarisation of all property sales to foreign nationals by a government-authorised interpreter is, however, a legal requirement.

Moreover, both contracting parties (seller and buyer) are required to be present at the entry of title.

The whole process of registering property in Turkey takes nine days to finish. The Turkish government, in turn, takes three to nine months to process the application and release the title deeds for transfer.

FOOTNOTES TO TRANSACTION COSTS TABLE The round trip transaction costs include all costs of buying and then re-selling a property – lawyers’ fees, notaries’ fees, registration fees, taxes, agents’ fees, etc.

Registration and notary fee: Registration and notary fees are expected to add around 1 to the roundtrip transaction cost; including registration fees, solicitors fee, government-authorised interpreters fee, notary fees and various permits. Stamp Duty: Stamp duty of 0.75 is charged on the disposal of Turkish real estate provided that a sale and purchase agreement has been executed.

Both parties to a transaction are jointly liable for the relevant stamp duty.

However, in cases where one party is Turkish-resident and the other party is not, the Turkish resident usually declares and pays the stamp duty. Title deed charge: Title deed charge is paid to the Land Registry, 3 of property value, split between buyer and seller.

Agent’s commission: Real estate agent’s commission is typically 6 of purchase price, split between buyer and seller.

Other real estate agencies do not include VAT in their commission. Important Site links: http://www.globalpropertyguide.com

According to research done by an Istanbul Real Estate Evaluation company, even if the intensity of the planning permissions does not increase, it will at least triple the value of the urban transformation projects. Urban transformation experts claim that it could increase as much as 5 to 10 times its current value.

The urban transformation projects will be the reason for real estate value to increase.

An Istanbul Real Estate Evaluation company researched what effect it will have on the value of the urban transformation projects. As their pilot region, the real estate company experts choose the Besiktas district, where real estate prices are one of the highest in Istanbul, in order to assess the effect of these applied projects.

In a hypothetical scenario, the transformation to a development of a residence project was chosen on a 90,000 m2 plot.

The subject in matter is that, even if the intensity of the planning permission does not increase, the value of real estate will increase 3-fold with an urban transformation. The Istanbul Real Estate Evaluation company representative and city planner expert stated that, the utopic works done in the neighborhood of Yildiz in the Besiktas district on islands 248, 255 and 514, the prices would increase from 1,800 YTL to 6,500 YTL.

The Turkish Parliament foresees that the long time agenda regarding the urban transformation planning for the real estate before and after values will be determined by experts.

The holder of rights for the urban transformation areas will receive payments, and these payments will be applied according to the evaluation reports, if the planning becomes law. The physical and economic improvement of the urban transformation projects, certainly reflects on the real estate values, states Urban Transformation expert.

This article is an excerpt from the original article that was written in Turkish.

For more information related to the real estate and investment market in Istanbul and its surrounding regions; and a list of our private Istanbul development offers, please contact us with your inquiries. general@euromedt-turkey.com Important Site links: http:// http://www.euromedt-turkey.com

Article About Brisbane AUSTRALIA The benefits of the steam room have been known for thousands of years and throughout history countless people have been using steam to enhance their sense of well being and improve their overall health. At the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st a huge influx in health conscious individuals in western society has fuelled a vast growth in the health industry.

n the past, steam rooms have been restricted to health clubs and gyms, and many think steam rooms are only used at home by the wealthy; however top steam room specialists have made this wonderful past time available to everybody, not just the rich.

With cutting edge technology at affordable prices, countless people are now enjoying all the wonderful benefits of a steam room. Brief Overview of Steam Room Benefits In a steam room, wet heat opens the pores of your skin to aid body detoxification.

A steam generator is used to create water vapour at high levels of humidity.

The heat and humidity may bring health benefits ranging from aiding stress relief, to body cleansing, to soothing aching muscles or arthritis. This article will highlight the main benefits and the importance of using a steam room: 1st Steam Room Benefit: Eliminate toxins The average body has approximately 2.6 million sweat glands.

The body only has four ways to excrete toxins; urine, feces, respiration and perspiration.

During a steam room session the body can sweat out up to 30 of its toxins that have built up. Studies have shown that environmental chemicals and poor diet cause 95 of cancers, which in today’s society makes a steam room a very healthy and practical addition to the home.

2nd Steam Room Benefit: Rejuvenate and Hydrate the Skin Heat from the steam causes the heart to beat faster and harder in an attempt to cool the body, causing blood to flood even the smallest capillaries.

Increased blood flow to these tiny capillaries (just under the skins surface) causes the skin to glow and look healthy because the blood cells carry minerals, vitamins and oxygen: vital for a healthy body. In addition, this increases the rate of body metabolism.

3rd Steam Room Benefit: Boost the immune system: Hyperthermia Hyperthermia refers to an elevation of core body temperature to above 37.2°C for therapeutic purposes.

During a steam room session the body temperature rises and when the body temperature rises it is called a fever (elevation of body temperature above the normal level). A virus can only usually survive within a narrow temperature range.

Therefore an increase in body temperature may either stunt the virus’ multiplication or kill the virus.

Fever triggers the body to release white blood cells, antibodies and a protein called interferon. The white blood cells, which are produced in the bone marrow, help to defend the body against infectious diseases and foreign materials.

Antibodies are proteins which help protect against disease-causing micro-organisms whilst interferon is any group of proteins produced by cells in the body in response to an attack by a virus.

4th Steam Room Benefit: Enhance the Respiratory System Steam inhalation supports mucosal secretions in the respiratory system and helps to open up the airways therefore reducing respiration resistance. This helps to relieve the discomfort of asthma and allergies.

Steam room benefits also include relieving inflammation and congestion of upper respiratory mucous membranes.

It also helps to loosen secretions, stimulate the discharge of mucous from the throat and lungs (natural expectorant) and keeps mucous membranes from excessive drying. 5th Steam Room Benefit: Relieve Stress and Relax Muscles Heat from the steam causes the muscles to relax, widening the blood vessels, allowing more oxygen to flow to them, releasing their tension.

The heat also gives relief to sufferers of arthritis.

The heat from the steam causes the whole body to relax; this experience melts away stress and soothes the mind & body. David Daniel is a successful writer in the subjects of home improvement and bathroom renovation providing the consumer information on Steam Shower rooms and Sauna units.

To view more articles visit: Steam Room Benefits.

He also writes articles for Di Vapor Steam Showers More Resources: Additional article images