Turkey’s real estate sector is expected to see more than $1bn in additional revenue in 2017 after a move to give citizenship to foreigners who buy and hold Turkish property, a senior economy official told Reuters.

Under the plan, foreigners who buy property worth at least $1m and hold it for three years will become eligible for Turkish citizenship.

“We expect over $1bn in revenue upon our move to grant citizenship to foreigners who buy property here or who bring their money into Turkey,” said the official.

Some 22,830 properties were sold to foreigners in 2015, a 20.4% increase from the previous year. However, property sales plunged last year, down to 16,549 units in the first 11 months of the year, a fall of 19.5% compared to the same period of 2015, mainly due to escalating security concerns and the July 15 failed coup attempt.

More recently though, investors from Iraq, Syria and Russia have been showing an interest in Turkish properties especially in Istanbul, the south eastern provinces of Gaziantep and Kilis, and the Black Sea region, the official said.