How to Choose a Real Estate Agent in Turkey: Licence, Fees and Red Flags

Choose a real estate agent in Turkey the way you would choose any professional you trust with a large sum: check the licence first, get the terms in writing, and make sure the agent works for you. In Türkiye, brokering a sale or a lease requires an authorisation certificate from the Ministry of Trade, the fee is capped by law, and a written brokerage agreement is compulsory. An agent who will not show you all three is the first agent to rule out.

This guide explains what a real estate agent in Turkey does, how to check one, what agents cost, the questions to ask and the warning signs, with notes for foreign buyers and sellers who need an English-speaking agent in Istanbul.

Do you need a real estate agent in Turkey?

No law requires one. You can buy directly from a developer or a private owner, and some buyers do. An agent earns the fee where you lack the time, the language or the local knowledge: finding properties that are not well advertised, comparing asking prices with what similar homes actually sold or let for, checking the title deed and the building's permits before you pay anything, and taking you through the land registry appointment. For a seller, a good agent prices the property against real sales, screens buyers and keeps the transaction moving when you live abroad.

What matters is that the agent acts for you. A sales consultant employed by a developer represents the developer; a licensed broker under a written agreement with you represents you.

What does a licensed real estate agent do?

• For buyers: the search and shortlist, viewings in person or by live video, price comparison, negotiation, and the checks before an offer: title deed records, mortgages and annotations, the occupancy permit (iskan), zoning and building records.
• For sellers: a marketing plan, advertisements published with your written authority, viewings, buyer screening, negotiation and the sale at the land registry.
• For landlords and tenants: finding a rental or a tenant, the lease, the deposit and the handover.
• On the day: the tax number, the bank account, the official valuation report (for foreign buyers), earthquake insurance (DASK), a sworn translator and the land registry appointment, coordinated so nothing is missed.

An agent does not replace a lawyer, a valuer or a tax adviser. A reliable agent tells you when you need one of them and works alongside them.

How do you check that an agent is licensed?

Under the Regulation on Real Estate Trade, a business may act as an intermediary in the sale or lease of property only with a real estate trade authorisation certificate (taşınmaz ticareti yetki belgesi) from the Ministry of Trade. The certificate is issued only to a business whose responsible person holds the official vocational qualification for real estate brokerage, and the Ministry can suspend or cancel it.

1. Ask for the certificate number and the name of the business it was issued to. A licensed agent gives both without hesitation.
2. Check that the names match: the business on the certificate, the business on the brokerage agreement and the business on the invoice should be the same.
3. Look the business up in the Ministry of Trade's Real Estate Trade Information System (TTBS), the register of authorised real estate businesses.
4. Check the listings. Advertisements of individual properties on the main Turkish portals now pass the Ministry's electronic listing verification (EİDS), which confirms that the advertiser has the owner's authority.

Our own certificate is no. 3408704, issued to Burak Ünal's registered sole proprietorship trading as Bosphorus Brokers. The licence and credentials page shows how to verify it.

How much does a real estate agent cost in Turkey?

For a sale, the Regulation caps the agent's fee at 4% of the sale price plus VAT in total, normally shared equally between buyer and seller unless agreed otherwise. For a lease, the cap is one month's rent plus VAT. The fee must be set in the written brokerage agreement before the agent acts for you.

Transaction	Legal maximum	Bosphorus Brokers
Buying a property	Half of 4% + VAT, unless agreed otherwise	Up to 2% of the price + VAT, at the title deed transfer
Selling a property	Half of 4% + VAT, unless agreed otherwise	Up to 2% of the price + VAT, at the title deed transfer
Renting or letting	One month's rent + VAT in total	Up to one month's rent + VAT

Ask how the agent is paid on new-build sales. Developers often pay agents a commission, which is lawful but should be disclosed to you, because it tells you whose interest the agent serves. Government and third-party costs are separate from the agent's fee: the title deed transfer fee, the official valuation report, notary and sworn translation. The guide to the cost of buying property in Turkey lists every item, and our fees page has a worked example.

What should you ask an agent before you sign?

• What is your authorisation certificate number, and who holds it?
• Will you sign a written brokerage agreement with me, and what exactly is the fee?
• Do you act for me, for the seller or for a developer? Will anyone else pay you a commission on this sale?
• Who will I deal with from the first call to the title deed, and in which language?
• Which checks do you run before I make an offer, and will you show me the documents?
• How will the deposit and the price be paid? (The answer should be: by bank transfer to the seller, never in cash and never into the agent's account.)
• Can I read reviews from past clients, or speak to one?

Which warning signs should make you walk away?

• No certificate number, or a number that belongs to a different business.
• No written agreement, or a fee that is "free for buyers" while the price you are quoted is higher than other agents quote for the same flat.
• Pressure to reserve before you have seen the title deed record, or a discount that ends "today".
• Payments into a personal account or in cash, rather than by bank transfer to the seller.
• A suggestion to declare a lower price at the land registry. It is unlawful, it exposes you to tax penalties, and for a citizenship purchase it can cost you the application.
• Promises of a fixed rental income, a resale profit or a citizenship outcome: no agent is in a position to make them.
• An agent who says you do not need a lawyer or who offers to prepare the official valuation themselves. Valuation reports for foreign buyers come from independent firms licensed by the Capital Markets Board (SPK).

Why an English-speaking agent matters for foreign buyers and sellers

The title deed record, the zoning documents, the sale terms and most sellers are in Turkish. An agent who explains each document in your language, and answers your questions before you sign, removes the main risk a foreign client faces: agreeing to something you have not understood. At the land registry, a buyer or seller who does not speak Turkish still needs a sworn translator; a good agent arranges one, but does not replace one.

Language also decides who you can actually reach. Ask whether the person who speaks your language is the person who handles your file, or a front desk that passes it on.

How we work at Bosphorus Brokers

Bosphorus Brokers is a licensed real estate brokerage in Istanbul run by Burak Ünal, who passed Turkey's official real estate broker qualification in 2021 and holds an MSc in Finance from the London School of Economics. He handles every client personally, in English, Turkish or French, under a written brokerage agreement and the fees above, payable only when the title deed is transferred. We act for buyers, for sellers, including owners who live abroad, and for landlords and tenants across Istanbul and in Ankara, İzmir, Antalya, Bodrum and Fethiye.

We are a real estate brokerage, not a law firm, a valuation company or an investment adviser, and we never hold client money: payments go through banks to the seller. For the full process, read how to buy property in Turkey as a foreigner or selling property in Turkey. To talk to Burak, contact us or message us on WhatsApp at +90 533 140 04 96.