This 1920s-era house is on tranquil Buyukada, the largest of the nine Princes’ Islands, 12 miles off Istanbul. It has two stories and about 3,800 square feet of space, on a 12,400-square-foot property on the island, which does not allow cars. The entrance, on the ground floor, opens into a large hall; the dining room is to the left, and the living room, which has a fireplace, is to the right. The blue-tiled kitchen, behind the dining room, is antiquated. A small room next to the kitchen could be used as a bedroom or office.

Most of the floors are wooden, as are the ceilings, which are designed in geometric inlaid patterns. A half bath in the main hall is tucked underneath a wooden staircase with a decorative balustrade. From both the living and dining rooms, French doors open onto the wooden front terrace, which is partially covered.

The second floor has six bedrooms, a half bath and a full bath equipped with a shower, a bidet and two sinks. Most of the bedrooms, wallpapered in white, have French windows and closets. The Marmara Sea is visible beyond the treetops, as is the Bosporus, which connects to the Black Sea, dividing Istanbul into its European and Asian sides.

About 30 feet behind the house is a small one-story structure, formerly servants’ quarters, with a bedroom, an open kitchen and a bath. Neither it nor the main house has heating, which is not unusual for old homes on an island where natural gas pipes arrived only in recent years.

Buyukada can be reached in 20 minutes or an hour and a half, depending whether one takes a private boat, a sea bus or the ferry. This house is a 5- to 10-minute walk from the ferry landing. Because emergency vehicles are the only cars allowed on the island, transportation options other than walking are bicycles and horse-drawn carriages.

Although Buyukada is technically a district of Istanbul, it feels frozen in time. Its two square miles offer a mix of lush hills, wooded areas, cliffs and beaches. It has a rich history dating to the Byzantine Empire, with striking architecture to match. Restaurants, shops, banks, and coffee and tea houses are within close proximity of the house.

MARKET OVERVIEW

Turkey’s stable economy has made Istanbul a desirable central office location for both eastern and western countries, according to Burcu Ozdemir, a managing partner of Turkey Relocation Management Services. As a result, a surge of wealthy residents has driven up prices in prime neighborhoods. Engin Kevenk, owner of the real estate company Golden Key International, estimates that such areas — the hills of the Bosporus, for example — sell for $10,000 to $18,000 per square meter ($926 to $1,666 a square foot, at 10.8 square feet to the square meter); the waterfront villas known as “yalis” sell for $30,000 per square meter or more. This listing is priced a bit lower than other prime properties because the house could benefit from modernizing, said Edi Turan of Turkey Sotheby’s International Real Estate, who has the listing. “It’s a good price,” he said, “but it needs to be renovated.”

There are lots of high-rise luxury apartments on the market, but renovated properties within historic buildings are more difficult to find. In Istanbul, most buyers who want a modern space in an older building with character do the renovations themselves. There is not much turnover in such properties; their owners generally intend to stay put. Mr. Turan estimates renovation costs for the Buyukada property, including the installation of a heating system, would be a minimum of $100,000.

There are less expensive properties for sale in developments on the outskirts of Istanbul. These are typically one-bedrooms selling in the range of $70,000, and their sellers often seek foreign buyers. Cameron Deggin, a co-owner of the London-based Place Overseas, a company specializing in Turkish property, said he doubted that these lower-end properties would appreciate in value as advertised. “Go prime location in Istanbul,” he advised, adding that prospective buyers on a limited budget are better off in a prime location in another Turkish city, rather than in one of Istanbul’s low-end suburban developments.

Istanbul has recently attracted a large number of buyers from the Middle East — countries like the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Iran, Qatar, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Europeans and Americans also have a sizable presence, as do residents of Turkic countries like Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan. In his informal survey of foreign homeownership in Istanbul, Mehmet Ali Taskin, a law partner with Odaman & Taskin, said 60 percent were now Middle Eastern buyers, 20 percent Europeans and Americans, and 20 percent from other countries. According to Mr. Turan, Istanbul is undergoing such an intense period of development that foreign homeownership is fluid; he was wary of predicting which nationalities would emerge as the dominant force. “The profile is totally changing,” he said.

Most of the homes on Buyukada are owned by Turks, though there are buyers from Greece, Germany, France, the United States and Britain.

BUYING BASICS

Foreigners are allowed to buy property in Istanbul as long as their home countries allow Turkish citizens to buy property there. The United States, Canada, and most European and Scandinavian countries are among the countries that have reciprocity agreements with Turkey. Buyers are not legally bound to hire a lawyer, but it is strongly recommended.

In addition, buying the Buyukada property involves getting military clearance, which is generally pro forma but requires buyers — or their lawyer — to submit forms to an Istanbul military office. The clearance process, which involves checking the property against military maps and running background checks, has recently been streamlined and now takes two to three weeks.

According to Ulya Selcuk, a law partner of Selcuk & Selcuk, major banks grant financing to foreigners, especially if they are already working in Turkey, provided their earnings and credit can be verified. But Mr. Turan says buyers should obtain financing from their home country, as Turkey’s mortgage interest rates are high and repayment schedules short. “In Europe a mortgage goes for 20 years, 30 years,” he said, “but in Turkey it’s not like that, it’s 10 years.”

Though Istanbul is susceptible to earthquakes, only new buildings are required to meet seismic building codes. For older structures like the Buyukada property, there are no structural requirements, but earthquake insurance is mandatory. The compulsory, basic earthquake insurance for this house would be $400 to $500 a year.

WEB SITES

Istanbul portal: ibb.gov.tr/en-US/Pages/Home_Page.aspx

Buyukada information: bykada.com/en/

LANGUAGES AND CURRENCY

Turkish; Turkish lira (1 TL = $.55)

TAXES AND FEES

The transfer tax is generally $49,500, and the buyer and seller typically split it. Property tax is $1,500 a year, paid in two installments. An average lawyer fee for a purchase of this size would be approximately $5,000, and the buyer’s real estate agency commission is about 3 percent of the purchase price.