In a world of economic uncertainty and fluctuating markets, investor decisions have become increasingly fragile particularly in the property sector. Now we are in 2012, it is important to look upon current trends and utilise market knowledge to assess this year's global property market.

Following consecutive regulatory actions, Turkish banks have come under pressure from rising funding costs and deteriorating earnings quality since the end of 2010. As a result of the policy crossfire caused by the Central Bank Turkey (CBT) and the Banking Regulatory + Supervision Agency (BRSA), we have been conservative on banks' Net Income Multiplier (NIM) evolution, foreseeing a gloomy picture for their profitability, not only in 2011, but 2012 as well.

Recent findings have shown that around 1 in 6 Turkish properties sold to foreign buyers were bought by Brits in the last two months. The Land Registry Directorate General's most recent statics highlight that 113,687 properties across Turkey are now owned by foreigners, an increase of 2,487 property sales made on September's 111,200 figures. Further data shows that Brits are still the biggest foreign buyers of Turkish property, with 25,177 properties now owned by British citizens, an increase of 329 since September 2011.

Over the past year, two property sectors have upheld an exceptionally strong position seeing considerable growth in student accommodation and the Turkish property market. With this in mind, purpose built student accommodation in Istanbul is currently in high demand providing the perfect opportunity for savvy investors to own a key asset class in a proven market.

Where do travellers want to visit next year? According to the leading guidebook publisher and travel website Frommers, 51% of readers quizzed about their top destinations to visit in 2012 voted in favour of Turkey. Amongst a list of 10 destinations compiled by Frommers, Turkey was announced as the reader's top destination to visit in 2012, despite being up against strong contenders such as Paris, Italy and Hawaii.

Turkey offers an intelligent investment opportunity for potential investors. It presents one of the most exciting property markets in 2011 both for lifestyle second homes and investment property opportunities. Turkey is the 15th most attractive destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the world. With possible inclusion in to the EU and a strong economy makes it one of the best investment areas at this time.

Turkey has become one of the biggest success stories of late having emerged as a sound economic marketplace; but let us not forget what it was that that helped propel the country into the dominant powerhouse it is today. Thanks to a highly successful tourism industry, Turkey has sky rocketed to the top much to the delight foreign property investors. At present, Turkey ranks seventh in the most-visited global destinations list, according to the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Turkey's tourism sector has exhibited a remarkable performance this year with an 11% increase in the number of tourists visiting the Eurasian nation in the first seven months of 2011 with 17,624,969 tourists visiting between January and July this year according to data from the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry and up to 30 million expected in total by year end.