Turkey’s Housing Loan Defaults Stay Near Record Lows
Istanbul Housing
Consumer lending in Türkiye continues to expand rapidly, yet housing loan repayment performance remains notably resilient. The latest data show that, despite rising credit volumes, the share of mortgage loans classified as non-performing has remained exceptionally low.
According to figures released by the Bankacılık Düzenleme ve Denetleme Kurumu (BDDK), total consumer loans reached 2 trillion 998 billion 342 million TL in the week ending February 6. This marks a significant increase compared to the 2 trillion 881 billion 138 million TL recorded at the close of last year.
In just the first five weeks of 2026, consumer credit volume expanded by approximately 117 billion TL, underscoring continued momentum in household borrowing.
Mortgages Account for 23% of Consumer Loans
Within this total, housing loans accounted for 695 billion 554 million TL, representing 23% of overall consumer lending. The figures suggest that mortgages remain a substantial, yet controlled, component of household credit.
More notably, repayment data indicate that borrowers are largely maintaining their payment obligations. According to data compiled by FinTürk for December 2025, the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio for housing loans stood at 0.17%.
In the context of global mortgage markets, this is considered an exceptionally low level, reflecting strong repayment discipline among borrowers.
Provinces with the Strongest Repayment Performance
The data reveals particularly robust repayment performance in several provinces. Among the regions with the lowest mortgage default rates:
• Bingöl: 0%
• Ardahan: 0.01%
• Burdur: 0.02%
• Yalova: 0.03%
• Ağrı: 0.03%
• Iğdır: 0.04%
• Bolu: 0.05%
• Trabzon: 0.06%
• Aksaray: 0.06%
• Edirne: 0.06%
• Sinop: 0.06%
• Yozgat: 0.07%
• Sivas: 0.07%
• Erzurum: 0.08%
• Muş: 0.08%
These figures suggest that mortgage repayment stability extends beyond major metropolitan centers and is widespread across diverse regions.
The Big Three: Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir
As of December 2025, Istanbul remained the city with the largest housing loan balance, totaling 197.40 billion TL. The NPL ratio in Istanbul was recorded at 0.16%, slightly below the national average.
In Ankara, the housing loan balance stood at 91.90 billion TL, with a lower NPL ratio of 0.11%. Meanwhile, Izmir reported a housing loan stock of 49.30 billion TL and a default rate of 0.17%.
The data indicates that even in large urban markets with higher property prices and larger loan volumes, repayment performance remains stable.
Earthquake-Affected Provinces Remain Below 1%
The provinces most affected by the 2023 earthquakes—Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, and Adıyaman—exhibited the highest mortgage NPL ratios in the country. However, even in these regions, default rates remained below 1%.
Kahramanmaraş reported a ratio of 0.45%, Hatay 0.54%, and Adıyaman 0.60%. Despite economic disruptions caused by the earthquakes, these figures remain relatively contained.
The combined housing loan stock of these three provinces amounts to approximately 8 billion TL, representing approximately 1.1% of the national mortgage portfolio.