Migrants who settled in their destination country are much less likely to be rent or mortgage free (48%) compared with those who returned to their origin country (84%), new research shows.
Findings from a first-of-its-kind study into migration and housing tenure indicate that settlers into multiple European countries are less likely to have a home of their own, both compared with the wider populations of the destination countries and those who never left (stayers) or who returned to their country of origin (returnees).
These findings are drawn from the pioneering 2000 Families Survey which conducted personal interviews with 5980 individuals nested within 1770 families who originated from Turkey.
The Survey located men who moved from Turkey to Europe as guestworkers and their comparators who stayed behind, and traced their families across Turkey and Europe up to the fourth generation.
Mortgage and rent-free living
The results show that 79% of the returnees, 56% of the stayers and 50% of the settlers own a house (with or without a mortgage) where they currently live.
Looking at those who have no mortgage on their property, or who live rent free, this applies to more than four fifths of the returnees (84%) and two thirds of the stayers (69%) but less than half (48%) of the settlers.
Mortgage holders in different housing markets
There are, however, tenure differences based on the housing market type of the destination country.
In countries with a regulated rental regime that places less emphasis on home ownership, such as Austria, Germany and Switzerland, the proportion of homeowner settlers (with or without a loan or mortgage) is, at 40%, not incomparable to the wider populations of these countries.
This is also true for countries with a regulated expansion regime, such as France and Belgium, that produce better homeownership outcomes for higher income groups. Here, 71% of settlers are homeowners, as compared with 63% and 73% of the wider populations in France and Belgium, respectively.
Strikingly, however, in countries with a liberal expansion regime that are renowned for their support of disadvantaged groups to buy their own homes, such as Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands, the proportion of homeowners is as low as 42% among the settlers while the figures for the wider national populations stand at 64% in Denmark, 83% in Norway, 70% in Sweden and 67% in the Netherlands.
Second homes
The research also shows that 51% of the settlers in Europe, mostly comprised of the first goers, possess a house in Turkey either jointly or individually. The analysis reveals that 64% of the settlers who own a house in Europe, and 42% of the settlers renting there, have part or full ownership of a house in Turkey.
Research implications
Lead author Dr Sebnem Eroglu, from the School for Policy Studies, said:
“Under the guest-worker agreements, labourers (typically men) from Turkey, and other Balkan and Southern European countries, were invited to contribute to the building of Northern and Western Europe. Despite their significant contributions to their economies and societies, the guestworkers and their descendants settled in Europe often find themselves disadvantaged against the destination country populations as well as their stayer and returnee counterparts.”
“We have found that returnees display the highest share of homeownership whereas the settlers’ share remains the lowest. This finding indicates the significance of migration in helping the returnees accumulate financial resources and convert them into housing assets in the country of origin whilst supporting the past research which documents the barriers faced by migrants in European housing markets – albeit to varying degrees.”
“It is striking that in the countries with a liberal expansion regime, where one would expect greater home ownership amongst the settlers, the figures remain significantly lower than the wider populations of the destination countries. A more positive picture emerges in the housing markets of other destinations, though still not as good as for those who returned to Turkey or never left.”
Co-authors
Eroglu, Sebnem
Bayrakdar, Sait (Dr, Warwick)
Guveli, Ayse (Prof, Warwick)
Additional information
See article published in Housing Studies journal: Full article: Understanding the consequences of international migration for housing tenure: evidence from a multi-site and intergenerational study
Photo by Wynand van Poortvliet on Unsplash
