Evaluation of the Affordability of Mortgage Loans Offered as a Solution for Housing Issue

Housing which has a layered structure, is a physical and financial asset. As a physical asset, it is fixed in a particular place. This spatial stability plays a role in shaping economic, political and social relations. On the other hand, as a financial asset, it is liquid and enables trade. Mortgage loans are an important part of the financial aspect of housing. Mortgage loans affect multiple areas such as urban planning, architecture, finance, socio-political area and are affected by those areas. The World Bank's 1993 report, titled as "Housing: Enabling Markets to Work", highlighted the importance of the housing sector and introduced policy principles for the governments' practises. In the following period, the importance, impact and size of housing finance, especially in developed countries, increased significantly. This has further strengthened the emphasis on housing ownership which has increased as a result of neoliberal policies. Thus, the demand for social housing has become increasingly invisible. As a result of these practices, the problem of housing has become more difficult especially for low-income citizens. This study seeks to investigate how mortgage loans, used as an instrument to solve the housing problem, enables to access housing. To achieve this goal, it is focused on the distribution and affordability of mortgage loans in the housing market of Istanbul by using the mixed method. In this study, mortgage loans data of Istanbul for the period 2010-2014, provided by one of the five largest private banks of the Turkish mortgage market, is evaluated. Using these results as base, indepth interviews are conducted with experts. To summarize the results obtained, it is seen that people who are able to use mortgage loans are not those who are struggling with the problem of housing in real terms. Thereby, it is come out that new questions need to be asked about affordability and sustainability of mortgage loans, which are offered as a one of the solution options to the housing problem of Turkey.