Russian buyers are leading foreign real estate purchases, while Turkish home sales hit a record high in April.

Sales of residential real estate in Turkey rose about 40 percent from April last year, official data released Tuesday showed, despite high borrowing costs and soaring prices.

The surge in demand was also driven by interest from foreign buyers, especially Russians, who more than doubled their home purchases compared to last month in a bid to find a financial haven.

The number of homes sold rose 38.8 percent in April to 133,058 units from 95,863 a year earlier, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said, a record for April.

This sales momentum continues despite lower supply and rising prices. The government earlier this month announced a series of measures to boost home sales and tackle soaring prices, which are rising nearly 100 percent annually, causing problems for residents looking for affordable housing to rent or buy.

Financial market support The positive sales growth rate is expected to last as real estate is the most valuable hedge against inflation, Ege Yapı Chairman Inanç Kabaday said. The government's recently announced measures will also add to the pace of sales in the coming period.

As part of a program announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week, cheaper mortgages will be provided to those who convert their foreign currency savings into Turkish lira or sell gold to the Central Bank to buy homes worth up to 2 million liras ($127,150).

Ankara urged individuals and companies to convert their savings into lira to support the domestic currency and unveiled a program in December aimed at boosting domestic demand. Erdogan said the expansion of the mortgage loan program would support the initiative and reverse the trend of dollarization, shedding dollarized funds into the Turkish economy.