An Assessment on Provincial Differentiation of Housing Problem in the Turkish Case

Abstract

Housing has emerged as a prominent urban problem in Türkiye during recent decades. Despite its quantitative overproduction, homeownership percentages have significantly decreased from 2002 to 2025, especially among low- and middle-income groups. This decrease turns the housing problem into a near-crisis situation. Most studies focus on this problem at the national level and overlook provincial differentiations. This study addresses one dimension of this gap by analysing the provincial distributions of residential ownership status profiles. By using hierarchical cluster analysis, it identifies spatially differentiated profiles across Türkiye. Contrary to expectations, the analysis reveals that “higher socio-economic development often correlates with lower homeownership”. The study argues for reformulating housing policy through flexible, context-dependent, province-level strategies rather than national approaches.