Hundreds of miles away from Istanbul, Turkey’s seaside, with its beautiful warm water and charming fishing villages, is attracting luxury development and becoming a hot area for vacation homes.
Bodrum, a peninsula on the southwestern Aegean, has emerged in particular as a place that attracts buyers from around the world.
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Yalıkavak, a town on the Bodrum Peninsula, has grown in popularity since its marina was refurbished in 2014. Annie Burnett, of Luxury Property Turkey, a real estate firm that specializes in the area, said the modernized marina has attracted luxury hotel brands such as Banyan Tree, a high-end resort company that has chosen the location as its first foray into Turkey. The company is set to open a luxury resort hotel in 2017.
The marina and associated development has created a luxurious, yet laid-back seaside village. The area is now perfect for "the wealthy, who want to be in their flip-flops and shorts" but in an upscale environment, according to Ms. Burnett.
In Bodrum, the luxury beach area on the Aegean coast, there is also the choice between traditional or contemporary. But unlike Istanbul, homes tend to be the same shape.
A three bedroom, two bathroom villa currently on the market in Yalikavak Bodrum.
luxurypropertyturkey.comThere is a traditional style in Bodrum, according to Ms. Burnett, a style of "white sugar cubes," with flat rooftops. These homes are very similar to the Greek beachside style. "From the Bodrum coastline you can see the Greek Islands. It is very close and you can almost touch them, that’s how it feels," Ms. Burnett said.
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New contemporary projects in the area are of a similar shape, only larger. And, while the shape doesn’t change, people are also making changes to the design, adding higher ceilings, lots of glass and stone. For example, the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier has designed a series of contemporary homes with glass exteriors in Bodrum, that still carry the square shape and white features for which the area is known.
Prices start at under $125,000, but reach into the hundreds of thousands or many millions depending on where the home is. "It has to have a sea view and it has to be in a good location," Ms. Burnett said.
A four bedroom, five bathroom villa in the Yalikavak on the Bodrum Peninsula.
luxurypropertyturkey.comFor those who want the beach experience in an even more off the beaten path setting, Kalkan, an old fishing town on the Mediterranean in the Antalya Province, is another good bet.
Kalkan has whitewashed homes on quaint cobblestone streets, which slope towards a horseshoe shaped harbor. The town is "attractive to sailors and writers and poets, according to Darren Edwards, founder of Luxury Property Turkey..
"A lot of people like the fact that it is two hours from the nearest airport," he said.
Prices range from about $625,000 for an apartment to over a million dollars for a luxury villa.