Ankara: House sales in Turkey surged 76.1% year-on-year in October, according to the country's statistical bureau TurkStat on Wednesday. A total of 165,138 houses were sold in October, rising from 93,761 in the same month last year, marking the highest figure since December 2022. According to Anadolu Agency, mortgaged sales saw a substantial increase of 278.2% on an annual basis in October, totaling 21,095 and accounting for 12.8% of all house sales. However, house sales to foreigners experienced a decline, dropping 16.3% year-on-year in October to 2,122. The southwestern resort city of Antalya recorded the highest number of foreign house buyers with 750, followed by Istanbul with 724, and the southern province of Mersin with 148. Among foreign buyers, Russian nationals purchased the most houses, totaling 373, followed by buyers from Iran with 172, and Ukraine with 136. In the first seven months of the year, a total of 1.1 million houses were sold, registering an increase of 11.9% on an annual basis. Durin g this period, house sales to foreigners fell 37.2%, reaching a total of 19,212.