Economic Aspects of Housing Investments and The Requirement of Rational Management Strategies for Mass Housing Facilities in Ankara Province of Turkey

The need for housing has continued to increase rapidly due to migration and population growth. The excess demand for urban centres in particular has led to an increase in land prices and therefore the transition to tall buildings has accelerated. The housing ownership rate for households in the urban areas is observed to be 60%, and investment in housing acquisition has been rapidly increased over the last 10 years. In addition, households with more than one residence in cities or second housing investments had increased continually. With the increase in high-rise buildings over time, management problems also began to arise. In order to meet the social needs of the owners sitting in high-rise buildings, special arrangements were needed to address the problems arising from the existence of areas subject to common area use of real estate. In order to solve the existing problems, the Law No. 634 dated 23.06.1965 were enacted and come into force and then the amendment of the Law No. 5711 with the title of “Special Provisions Concerning Condominium Buildings” together with the Law No. 634 article 66 and other clauses have been added. Management of detached housing, multi-storey housing and sheltered sites and co-operative sites is carried out by the management chosen by the floor owners board according to the Law No. 634.Nevertheless, there are significant problems in the management of common areas by floor owners in terms of service delivery, quality of service and compliance with legislation. It is not possible for floor owners to be experts in real estate law, facility, and real estate management in general and to provide management services in accordance with the legislation. In the last two decades, it is observed that different models are applied together in the management of housing structures due to the increasing management problems and the changing of nature of housing investments. These are such as sites managed by floor owners, real estate in which management services are partially or completely outsourced, and facilities managed by cooperatives. In according to building regulations such as; parking, elevator, waste water discharge, energy performance, thermal insulation, shelter, central heating, fire protection, annual management fee payment, notification law and work times regulations, professional practices in building management is missing and need to be implemented to fil the gap. In the field study, the results of in-depth interviews, surveys and observations made with the buildings and site managers in the northern part of Ankara Urban Transformation Project and Dikmen Valley Urban Transformation Project were evaluated. In the buildings and site managers’ survey; questions were asked regarding the demographic characteristics of the interviewees, the formation of the management bodies, the management model of the site, management problems and development opportunities. In this way, attention was paid into analyzing the management of condominium buildings in the transformation areas, identifying the problems that restrict development opportunities, and conducting interviews within the framework of questions prepared to analyze the approaches of managers and users to management of condominium buildings. In the case of Turkey, it is observed that managers were chosen by the floor owners in many housing projects. The chosen manager is usually coming from one of the floor owners, but in some cases he or she may come from outside and usually a non-professional. However, the management of condominium buildings is also an area that requires some expertise to deal with. Leaving the management of many floor owners and structures with common and joint ownership areas to persons with no legal expertise raises many problems in practice. As a result of poor management practices, there are losses in collection management fees and value losses due to the increase in vacancy rates. In the projects where management is carried out by a facility management firm and expertise, it is seen that existing problems are resolved easily and the demand for the projects increases. Particularly in the complex buildings or super structure with social facilities, different security gates and personnel, it has encountered that there is a problem of high dues and costs which must be reduced from execution of management by a facility management company makes an effective difference in solving existing problems. The fact that the management of the mass housing by a facility management company brings a higher burden in terms of cost, it is seen that the management of these real estate by facility managers provides higher profit gains in the long run. However, in small housing projects, the difference in the tax rate is a deterrent to the transfer of management to a professional facility management company. Lack of adequate knowledge and experience of managers chosen among floor owners or from outside; personnel and heating costs, leasing of common areas, etc., causes wrong decisions in many aspects and causes cost increases in the long run. When the selected two large mass housing settlements in Ankara province were examined, it is concluded that the success of the facility management has an important role in the formation of brand value. In recent years, the demand for brand housing has increased. It is observed that the success in facility management was influential in the increase in demand of housing investment. In addition, the management of facilities by professional companies is important to ensure the sustainability of residential buildings. It has been found that facility management, which is seen as an interdisciplinary field of study, has become a requirement in residences and additional social and commercial buildings within the framework of the examples studied, has a direct effect on raising the satisfaction ratings of residents and in particular increasing the value of investment.