Understanding the Consequences of International Migration for Housing Tenure: Evidence from a Multi-Site and Intergenerational Study

This research is the first to examine the consequences of international migration for housing tenure through comparisons between the ‘settler’ migrants who originated from Turkey and are now living in multiple European destinations and their ‘stayer’ and ‘returnee’ counterparts based in Turkey. The data is drawn from personal interviews performed as part of the pioneering 2000 Families Survey with 5980 individuals nested within 1770 families. The settlers differ considerably from their stayer and returnee counterparts in that they turn more towards tenancy than homeownership in their current country of residence in Europe. Strikingly, the results reveal that the least integrated reside in countries governed by liberal expansion regime (esp. Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands), promoting policy measures to ease transition of lower social classes into homeownership. The results also demonstrate an increased tendency for homeownership amongst the children of asset-rich parents across both Turkey and Europe, independently of migration status.