Real estate sales in Istanbul dropped by 26 percent in the first quarter of 2010 when compared to the last quarter of 2009, the chairperson of Istanbul Chamber of Real Estate Agencies said on Thursday.

Speaking to the AA, chairperson Sabri Ates said, "there has been a remarkable stagnation in the real estate sector in the recent period."

People are cautious about buying real estate, and loan rates are still high, he said.

"A total of 110,000 real estates were sold in the last quarter of 2009, while 85,000 real estates were sold in the first quarter of 2010," he stated.

Ates said that stagnation would probably continue till the end of 2011 and they expected a pickup in the sector towards 2012.

AA