Construction Cost per m² in Turkey 2026: Official Figures and Istanbul

Note: The figures below are taken from official sources: the 2026 approximate building unit costs of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change (Official Gazette, 3 February 2026) and the Construction Cost Index of TÜİK, the Turkish Statistical Institute (July 2026). They are for information only and are not a binding quotation. Last updated: 7 October 2026.

Short answer: In 2026 the official reference construction cost for housing in Turkey, Istanbul included, ranges from 19,800 TL/m² to 33,900 TL/m² depending on the height and type of the building. The values come from the communiqué of 3 February 2026 issued by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change; they exclude VAT and include 15% overheads and 10% contractor's profit. According to TÜİK, construction costs rose 28.33% in the year to July 2026.

Official 2026 Unit Costs for Housing

Every year the Ministry sorts buildings into classes and publishes a unit cost per square metre for each class. For apartment buildings the class is set by the building height; for detached and semi-detached houses, by the gross floor area of the unit:

Type of housing	Building class	2026 unit cost (excl. VAT)
Apartment building, up to three storeys (inclusive)	III-A	19,800 TL/m²
Apartment building, more than three storeys and building height up to 21.50 m	III-B	21,050 TL/m²
Apartment building, building height over 21.50 m and up to 30.50 m	III-C	23,400 TL/m²
Apartment building, building height over 30.50 m and up to 51.50 m	IV-A	26,450 TL/m²
Apartment building, building height over 51.50 m	IV-B	33,900 TL/m²
Detached or semi-detached house, unit under 200 m²	III-B	21,050 TL/m²
Detached or semi-detached house, from 200 m² (inclusive) to 500 m²	III-C	23,400 TL/m²
Detached or semi-detached house, 500 m² and above	IV-B	33,900 TL/m²

For a villa, the budget is broken down in more detail in our article on villa construction cost.

Official 2026 Values for Factories and Hotels

The same communiqué classifies industrial buildings by the live load the floor slab has to carry, and hotels by their star rating:

Type of building	Building class	2026 unit cost (excl. VAT)
Industrial facility, floor live load 0–500 kg/m²	II-C	15,100 TL/m²
Industrial facility, floor live load 501–3,000 kg/m²	III-B	21,050 TL/m²
Industrial facility, floor live load 3,001 kg/m² and above	IV-A	26,450 TL/m²
Administrative building of an industrial facility	III-B	21,050 TL/m²
Apart-hotel	III-B	21,050 TL/m²
Hotel, 1 and 2 stars	IV-A	26,450 TL/m²
Hotel, 3 stars	IV-C	40,500 TL/m²
Hotel, 4 stars	V-B	43,850 TL/m²
Hotel, 5 stars	V-D	53,500 TL/m²

We describe the scope of these projects on our factory construction and hotel construction pages; a worked example for a factory appears in the table of examples further down.

What Do These Values Include and Exclude?

The communiqué exists to calculate the fees for architectural and engineering services. A unit cost is not the price of a particular project but the average for buildings in that class. Even so, it is the only official benchmark that is updated every year and open to everyone, which makes it a good starting point when you assess a bid.

• Included: the building itself, 15% overheads and 10% contractor's profit.
• Not included: VAT, the land, permit fees and utility connections, design and building inspection fees, ground improvement and shoring, landscaping and external works.

Since February: the TÜİK Construction Cost Index

The communiqué was published in February, and costs have kept rising since. According to the July 2026 Construction Cost Index that TÜİK released on 10 September 2026:

• Construction costs rose 28.33% year on year; for building construction the increase was 28.37%.
• Material costs rose 27.13% and labour costs 30.51%.

Bids received in the second half of the year are therefore commonly above the communiqué values. The index is a rate of increase. Multiplying the communiqué values by it to produce a "current price per m²" does not work, because the two sources measure different periods and different cost items.

Construction Cost per m² in Istanbul

There is no separate official cost per m² for Istanbul: the Ministry's communiqué applies across Turkey, and an apartment building in Istanbul falls into the same class as one in any other province. The difference comes from the items that sit outside the official value:

• Ground and earthquake: The Turkish Building Earthquake Code (TBDY 2018) ties the design of the structural system to the seismic hazard at the plot and its soil class. Weak ground may call for piled foundations or ground improvement, so a price given before anyone has seen the soil investigation is incomplete.
• Shoring: On narrow plots where buildings adjoin each other, the basement excavation needs shoring to protect the neighbouring buildings. The communiqué puts sheet piling and anchored retaining walls in a class of their own (I-C, 4,200 TL/m²).
• Parking: If the required parking cannot be provided on the plot, a parking fee is paid; if it is provided on the plot, the basement levels add to the excavation and shoring costs.
• Site logistics: Narrow streets, traffic and restricted working hours make material deliveries, concrete pours and crane set-up harder.
• Urban renewal: For at-risk buildings under Law No. 6306 on the Transformation of Areas under Disaster Risk, demolition, evacuation and agreement among the flat owners are added to the process, and state support changes the budget. You can see what the support contributes with the Half on Us (Yarısı Bizden) calculator and read how the process works on our urban renewal page.
• Fees: Permit fees and some municipal charges vary from district to district; they should appear as separate items in a bid.

How Is the Building Inspection Fee Calculated?

Under Law No. 4708 on Building Inspection, the fee is a percentage of the approximate building cost, that is, the construction area multiplied by the unit cost set by the Ministry: 1.75% for buildings up to 1,000 m², 1.5% between 1,001 and 50,000 m² and 1.25% for larger buildings. Where construction takes longer than a year, the rate is increased by 5% per year. For example, a 600 m² apartment building in class III-A has an approximate building cost of 11,880,000 TL, and its building inspection fee, at 1.75%, comes to 207,900 TL.

Construction Cost Calculator

Enter your building type and gross floor area to calculate the official reference cost and the building inspection fee. The calculator uses the class tables above and the rates in Law No. 4708; the result is a reference excluding VAT, not a quotation.

Worked Examples (Official 2026 Values)

Building	Class	Calculation	Reference cost (excl. VAT)
Three-storey apartment building, 600 m²	III-A	600 × 19,800	11,880,000 TL
Building height 18 m (about 6 storeys), 1,800 m²	III-B	1,800 × 21,050	37,890,000 TL
Building height 27 m (about 9 storeys), 3,600 m²	III-C	3,600 × 23,400	84,240,000 TL
Detached house, 180 m²	III-B	180 × 21,050	3,789,000 TL
Factory, 5,000 m² (floor load 501–3,000 kg/m²)	III-B	5,000 × 21,050	105,250,000 TL

These figures cover the building itself only; the land, VAT, fees and the Istanbul items listed above are not included. How the cost items spread across a budget is explained in our article on turnkey construction cost.

Decisions That Drive the Budget

• Structural system: reinforced concrete, steel or prefabricated. Compare them on the same quantity take-off.
• Number of basement levels: each one adds directly to the cost of excavation, shoring and waterproofing.
• Façade and joinery: the share of glazing, the cladding material and the thermal insulation class.
• Grade of finishes: floor coverings, kitchen, bathrooms, interior doors and lighting.
• Duration: a job that drags on stays exposed to the rising cost index for longer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the construction cost per m² in Istanbul in 2026?

The official reference value in Istanbul is the same as in the rest of Turkey: 19,800–33,900 TL/m² for apartment buildings depending on height, and 21,050–33,900 TL/m² for detached houses depending on floor area (2026, excl. VAT). Ground conditions, shoring, parking and site constraints can push the real cost above this value; an exact figure needs a quantity-based quotation.

How much does it cost to build a 100 m² flat?

A flat of 100 m² gross, including its share of the common areas, corresponds to a reference cost of 1,980,000 TL in a three-storey building (III-A) and 2,105,000 TL in a building of more than three storeys with a height of up to 21.50 m (III-B). VAT, land and fees are not included in these figures.

Does the official unit cost include VAT?

No. The values in the communiqué exclude VAT; the 15% overheads and 10% contractor's profit are included in them.

Why does a bid differ from the official value?

The communiqué gives an average for a class and reflects conditions in February 2026. A bid is prepared for the ground on your plot, your structural system, your material choices and current prices. According to TÜİK, construction costs rose 28.33% in the year to July 2026.

How is a building's class determined?

The communiqué assigns each type of building to a class: the deciding factor is building height for apartment buildings, the gross floor area of the unit for detached houses, the floor load for industrial buildings and the star rating for hotels. Buildings that are not on the list are classified by comparison with similar ones.

Sources: Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, Communiqué on the 2026 Approximate Building Unit Costs for Calculating Architectural and Engineering Fees, Official Gazette, 3 February 2026, No. 33157; TÜİK, Construction Cost Index, July 2026 (10 September 2026); AFAD, Turkish Building Earthquake Code, Official Gazette, 18 March 2018, No. 30364 (repeated issue); Law No. 4708 on Building Inspection, Article 5; Law No. 6306 on the Transformation of Areas under Disaster Risk. The figures in this article are for information and are not a binding quotation.