Social Media Real Estate Ads Will Also Be Regulated

Turkey Real Estate Consultants Federation President Hacı Ali Taylan commented on the details of the Ministry of Commerce's "verified ad" regulation. Taylan stated that as sector representatives, they support the implementation, and that the ministry's efforts in the real estate and automotive sectors have had a positive impact on both consumers and individuals operating in the sector. Taylan emphasized the importance of keeping housing and car prices under control for the economy. Addressing some misunderstandings about the content of the verified ad regulation in society, Taylan said, "There is a misconception that real estate ads will only be given through the electronic ad system. This does not mean that the new application is limited to this. The regulation is primarily a work on ads published on the internet and can lead to some manipulations." Highlighting that the new application can also combat unregistered real estate agents, Taylan stated that from now on, only real estate consultants who have obtained an authorization certificate from the Ministry of Commerce, besides homeowners and their immediate relatives, can advertise through real estate portals. Taylan provided information that there are around 69,000 authorized real estate agents in Turkey and continued as follows, "There are approximately 20,000 real estate agents working without authorization certificates. The Ministry had also made regulations regarding the authorization certificate. There used to be an internship obstacle before obtaining this document. A waiver of the internship requirement was introduced with the condition of applying once by the end of the year. By the end of the year, we expect there to be around 90,000 registered real estate agents in Turkey. Therefore, the so-called illegal agents will no longer exist in the market. Because they will not be able to advertise through unauthorized platforms. I do not know if the regulation will completely eliminate informality, but the important thing is to minimize it." Pointing out that with the widespread use of social media platforms, ads can be published not only through real estate portals but also through different channels, Taylan stated, "The Ministry will also examine these platforms and prevent illegal real estate ads. Every ad must be served as verified. This way, ads that harm consumers and lead to manipulations will be completely eliminated. On the other hand, there was a provision in the regulation regarding the public availability of cadastral and parcel information on the real estate portal. We conveyed to the authorities that this situation could cause some grievances for individuals operating in the sector. They mentioned that they will work on the issue. As the sector, we thank the Ministry of Commerce for their efforts.