This is Emre.

Once one of the biggest life goals for the middle class, "buying a home of one's own" has been replaced in today's Türkiye by the struggle to "survive without giving half of one's salary to rent." Browsing real estate listings is no longer a tool for planning the future; it is indistinguishable from window-shopping for an unattainable dream.

The gradual shelving of the hope for homeownership has dragged millions of citizens into a mandatory vortex of rental housing. So, how did housing, the most fundamental right to shelter, become an unreachable luxury? Statistics clearly reveal how dire this picture has become.

Photo Ariel Paredes on Pexels

Declining Home Sales: The Melting Purchasing Power in Numbers

Housing and workplace sales statistics published by TurkStat (TÜİK) clearly prove the difficulty citizens face in accessing housing.

• According to July 2026 data, home sales across Türkiye decreased by 17% compared to the same month of the previous year, realizing at 123,603 units.
• Looking at the picture of the first seven months of the year (January-July), total home sales decreased by 5.5% compared to the previous year, falling to 823,119.
• The situation is much more striking in the second-hand housing market, which citizens naturally lean toward using their own savings; in July, second-hand sales experienced a sharp decline of 20.8%, falling to 81,074 units.
• Even though mortgage sales based on bank loans increased by 23.7% annually in July to reach 23,888 units, the share of these sales in total sales remained at only 19.3%.

The fundamental truth these figures tell us is this: The limited number of sales circulating in the market are mostly made not by low- and middle-income earners wanting to meet their housing needs, but by a segment that has cash power and sees housing as an investment tool.

The Rent Crisis and the Burden of Rising Inflation

The rental housing market, the natural destination for the masses unable to purchase homes, is also incapable of meeting this massive demand. Citizens fleeing high housing prices are now caught by rent hikes that crush their incomes.

According to official data, annual consumer inflation (CPI) stood at 31.75% in July 2026. Based on the 12-month CPI average used to calculate rent increases, the legal upper limit for rent hikes for contracts renewed in August 2026 was set at 31.90%.

Even though the legal limits are around the 32% band, this is a shield that only applies to tenants who already have a home. For people who have to move, are relocated for work, or are starting a new household, the cost of renting a new house in the market is priced far beyond these legal limits. In metropolitan areas, the rent for a standard apartment has even exceeded the minimum wage limit.

The Root Causes of the Crisis: Why Did Prices Skyrocket?

This picture is the result of the simultaneous triggering of structural and economic problems that have accumulated over the years:

• The Multiplication of Construction Costs: High inflation has multiplied the costs of basic construction items such as iron, cement, and glass. As contractors unable to calculate costs hesitate to start new projects, the price of the limited number of houses produced is directly pulled up.
• Difficulty Accessing Credit and High Interest Rates: As shown by the share of mortgaged sales remaining at around 19%, the astronomical levels of mortgage interest rates have pushed monthly installments to unpayable dimensions.
• Supply Failing to Meet Demand: The 8.6% drop in first-hand home sales to 42,529 in July 2026 shows that the contraction in new housing production continues. While population and household needs increase, the lack of new production pushes prices up.
• Housing as an Investment Tool: Investors with money viewing housing as a safe haven to prevent their savings from melting against high inflation have carried prices to speculative levels.

Is This Sustainable?

The housing crisis Türkiye is going through has moved beyond being merely an economic indicator and has turned into a serious social issue. The alienation of younger generations from the idea of owning their own home, "even if they work all their lives," breaks their motivation for the future. Escaping this cycle is only possible if inflation is permanently reduced to single digits, intensive social housing projects for low-income earners are initiated, and housing is removed from being merely an "investment commodity" in the market and rebuilt as a "fundamental right."

Recently in Türkiye, the government's increasing pressure and harsh stance against free and independent journalists have been heavily criticized, but the government is not backing down from this attitude. When you criticize bad governance or pursue corruption, they detain you through law enforcement or throw you in jail. In other words, they do not even allow you to practice your profession.

However, the job of journalists is to report everything, good and bad, to the public objectively and to conduct research on their behalf. Because the public might not investigate a topic themselves, and this is the duty of journalists. Yet, in Türkiye, this has become much more difficult for true journalists trying to do their jobs.

The government, forced to release some journalists thanks to public pressure, wants to detain and arrest that person again at the first opportunity. That is to say, they do not want any journalist who does their job properly. This is because journalists play an important role in enlightening the public and changing their opinions.

I salute all journalists who defend independent and free journalism and dedicate their entire lives to this cause.

Journalism is not as easy a profession as people think; on the contrary, they may need to conduct research under incredibly difficult conditions. Especially when an irregularity is detected and there are officials within the government involved, the government strictly opposes its exposure because if it comes to light, the public will react strongly against the government. So, the government prefers to silence journalists because it fears society's reaction, but I think it is impossible for them to do so. In democratic countries, they have never been able to silence journalists; on the contrary, the more they try to silence them, the more new journalists emerge. There are many independent journalists like me who will take on this duty in the public sphere, and their numbers will continue to grow.

In summary, greater support for journalists is crucial.

One day, when the government changes in Türkiye, all the irregularities committed by that government to date will be revealed. These exposed scandals will undoubtedly be investigated by an independent judiciary and will lead to them being brought before a court.

Whoever betrays their country must absolutely be tried as a 'traitor' and treated accordingly.

It is not right to call people patriots who are the lackeys of other countries, who act in accordance with their interests, and who sell out their country; these individuals will definitely be held accountable one day. Knowing this, the government tries to create fear in society and feed off this fear, because it knows there is no other way out.

I believe there will be some major changes in Türkiye very soon, and these changes will profoundly affect the government.

I hope everyone who betrays our country will one day face trial and be held accountable before justice.

For decades, the personal computing landscape has been dominated by proprietary ecosystems. Windows 11 continues this trend, binding users to a web of expensive licenses, forced updates, and a growing ecosystem of subscription-based software. But there is an alternative that empowers the user, respects privacy, and costs absolutely nothing. Ubuntu 26.04 LTS represents the pinnacle of open-source engineering, offering a rock-solid, highly efficient environment that proves you do not need to spend your hard-earned money to achieve a premium computing experience.

Financial Freedom and Unmatched Efficiency

The hidden cost of a traditional operating system extends far beyond the initial purchase. The ecosystem encourages perpetual spending on office suites, cloud storage, and utility applications. By switching to Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, you immediately eliminate the "operating system tax." Every essential tool is free. The system itself is vastly more efficient, breathing new life into older hardware and maximizing the battery and performance of modern machines without bloatware consuming your background resources.

A Powerhouse for Developers and Content Creators

Ubuntu is not just an alternative; it is the industry standard for development. Whether you are compiling Android applications natively with Jetpack Compose, or architecting robust backend systems using PHP and Laravel for independent web platforms, Linux provides a frictionless, native environment. Furthermore, content creators are no longer bound to expensive proprietary subscriptions. Independent journalists and video producers can leverage powerful open-source or Linux-native tools like OBS Studio, DaVinci Resolve, and Kdenlive to edit crisp footage from modern mirrorless or action cameras. Managing a personal blog or broadcasting a digital show becomes an entirely cost-free pipeline.

The Gaming Renaissance on Linux

The old myth that "you cannot game on Linux" has been completely shattered. Thanks to Valve's massive investments in the Proton compatibility layer, the gaming landscape on Ubuntu 26.04 LTS is spectacular. You don't need a Windows partition to enjoy modern blockbusters. Using tools like the open-source Heroic Games Launcher, you can easily access your Epic Games and GOG libraries. Demanding AAA titles, such as Cyberpunk 2077, run natively or through compatibility layers with incredible performance, often rivaling or exceeding their Windows counterparts in stability.

Transitioning to Ubuntu 26.04 LTS is a declaration of digital independence. It proves that you do not need to compromise on quality, performance, or capability to embrace an open, cost-free ecosystem. From immersive gaming sessions to high-level software development and professional media production, open source has matured into a superior choice. It is time to stop paying for constraints and start experiencing true digital freedom.

In recent years, a persistent debate has dominated the socioeconomic discourse in Türkiye regarding its youth: Are young people simply "too picky" when it comes to employment, or are they refusing to participate in a labor market that fails to offer fair compensation and decent working conditions? With the number of youth categorized as NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training)—colloquially referred to as "ev genci" or "home youth"—reaching into the millions, understanding the root causes of this phenomenon is crucial. This article explores the structural, economic, and psychological factors driving youth unemployment in Türkiye, examining whether it is a matter of preference or a systemic failure to provide a living wage.

Photo by Rachel Claire from Pexels

The Statistical Reality: A Generation on Pause

To comprehend the magnitude of the issue, one must look at the labor data. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) and independent economic research centers like DİSK-AR, the broad youth unemployment rate in Türkiye paints a grim picture. Recent statistics indicate that in the 15-24 and 15-29 age brackets, the NEET rate hovers between 23% and 26%, placing Türkiye among the countries with the highest rates in the OECD. This equates to approximately 4.7 to 6.5 million young individuals who are disconnected from both the educational system and the formal labor market. The situation is even more severe for young women, where societal norms, household care responsibilities, and economic barriers intersect to push NEET rates to 36%.

The "Picky Youth" Narrative and Educational Mismatch

The narrative that young people "do not like jobs" (iş beğenmeme) often stems from employers in labor-intensive, blue-collar sectors, such as manufacturing, textiles, or agriculture, who struggle to find workers. However, this perspective oversimplifies a complex structural mismatch in the Turkish economy. Over the past two decades, Türkiye has seen a massive expansion in higher education, with the proliferation of universities across almost every province. Consequently, a significant portion of the youth now holds university degrees and naturally expects white-collar jobs commensurate with their academic qualifications.

When these graduates are offered minimum-wage, physically demanding, or precarious jobs entirely outside their field of study, their reluctance is often mischaracterized as being overly selective. In reality, it is a symptom of an economy that predominantly creates low-skill, low-wage jobs while producing an oversupply of high-skill graduates.

Economic Reality: Low Wages and Hopelessness

The primary counter-argument—and the lived reality for millions of young people in Türkiye—is that the labor market simply does not offer wages that justify the effort. With Türkiye experiencing severe inflation and a soaring cost of living, the national minimum wage often falls below the calculated hunger and poverty lines. For a young person, accepting a high-stress, low-paying job means working merely to cover daily commuting, food, and basic sustenance. It offers zero prospect of achieving true economic independence, buying a home, or establishing a secure future.

Furthermore, academic studies and sociological research, such as those conducted by Prof. Dr. Mehmet Fatih Aysan, highlight that young people are not just rejecting jobs; they are losing hope. The psychological toll of constant job application rejections, coupled with the prevalence of informal employment (kayıt dışı çalışma) which lacks basic social security, leads to a profound sense of despair. Many young people experience "discouraged worker syndrome." They withdraw from the labor force entirely because they believe that even if they find employment, it will not significantly improve their quality of life or lift them out of poverty.

To reduce the youth unemployment crisis in Türkiye to a mere behavioral flaw of a "lazy" or "picky" generation is both inaccurate and unjust. The phenomenon of millions of young people retreating to their homes is a rational, albeit tragic, response to a distorted labor market. It is not that the youth do not want to work; rather, they refuse to be exploited in a system that offers inadequate wages, poor working conditions, and no viable path to a secure future. Solving this crisis requires moving beyond the "picky youth" myth. It demands structural economic reforms, the creation of high-value industries that match the educational profile of the youth, and ensuring that labor is dignified with a living wage.

References

**** 9. Köy. (2025). "Ev genci sayısı 4,7 milyona ulaştı: İş mi beğenmiyorlar, iş mi bulamıyorlar?"

**** Evrensel. (2026). "Genç nüfusta işsizlik düşmüyor: 6,7 milyon kişi ne eğitimde ne istihdamda." 

**** T24. (2026). "TÜİK'e göre Türkiye'de her dört gençten biri ne eğitimde ne istihdamda; 'Sınıf ikincisiydim, şimdi evdeyim'."

**** T24. (2026). "Gençler artık okumayı anlamsız buluyor - Borç, yalnızlık ve psikolojik yıpranma."  

The combined votes of the AKP, MHP, DEM, CHP, HÜDA PAR, and DSP reach 429. In the latest vote, with the support of the CHP, a total of 467 votes was reached, meaning the AKP has effectively conducted a test for amending the constitution.

The bill adopted in the Parliament within the scope of a 'Terror-Free Turkey' received 467 votes with the support of the CHP under its 'invalid' administration. On the same day, the CHP candidate won the deputy mayoral election in the Ankara Etimesgut Municipality with the backing of the AKP and MHP. Thus, the People's Alliance saw that it could change the constitution without a referendum with the CHP's support.

Erdoğan's Goal

When the framework law secured well over 400 votes, AKP deputies commented, 'The visa for a new constitution has now been obtained.' Once Parliament reconvenes on October 1, the new constitution will dominate the political agenda. Seeking to run for president again, Erdoğan is aiming for a system with no term limits through a constitutional amendment.

In this new process, the AKP, MHP, and DEM collaborated fully. The combined seat count of these three parties reaches a total of 379, consisting of 277 for the AKP, 56 for DEM, and 46 for the MHP. In this scenario, 45 of the CHP's deputies play a key role. If the CHP also supports this tripartite alliance, a total of 424 deputies is reached. Consequently, constitutional amendments could be made without the support of the Yeni Parti, Yeni Yol, and other small parties. With the addition of HÜDA PAR's 4 deputies and the DSP's 1 deputy, this figure rises to 429.

The Trial Run Was Held in Etimesgut

The clearest example of how the CHP might align with the People's Alliance (AKP-MHP) in the new era occurred the other day. During the deputy mayoral election in Etimesgut, candidates from the Yeni Parti and the CHP ran against each other. When council members from the CHP, AKP, and MHP acted in unison, the CHP candidate was elected over the Yeni Parti's candidate. Similar dynamics are at play in the Menderes and Üsküdar municipalities. The situation within the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Council is also critical. If 10 CHP members were to switch sides, control of the İBB could also change hands.