A study by the Fethiye Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FTSO), which will soon be published in book form, has sought to show how foreign residents have impacted the social and economic dynamics in Fethiye.
For the study, titled “The Social and Economic Side of International Migration to Fethiye,” Muğla University instructors Mehmet Avcı and Umut Avcı talked to 800 foreigners from 311 households. Their questions focused on the interaction between locals and foreigners in Fethiye and their economic impact on the town. The study also aimed to discover why these foreigners bought real estate in Fethiye and assessed their effect on the real estate sector.
The study found that 41 percent of foreigners used their personal savings, 20 percent secured bank loans and 10 percent took out mortgages to buy their residences. Another interesting point is that 57.8 percent of foreign residents in Fethiye preferred to buy villas while 36.7 preferred detached homes and 2.9 percent preferred houses with large gardens. More than 65 percent had visited Turkey before buying residences and the majority of problems they encountered in purchasing real estate in Fethiye were related to real estate agents; only 11.6 percent had problems with government organs, while 23.7 percent experienced problems with real estate agents.
Umut Avcı said they talked to the foreigners in Fethiye in person while preparing the book, adding that the survey forms were printed in both English and German. He said 255 British, 34 German, three Russian and two French families along with 17 families from other countries had participated in the study. He noted that 47 percent of the foreigners had their own vehicles and that their biggest complaint was with the infrastructure and traffic in the town.
“When we looked at shopping habits, we observed that foreigners prefer to frequent both supermarkets and bazaars. Foreigner residents who shopped only at supermarkets amounted to 28.6 percent of the total, while 52.4 percent preferred to shop at both supermarkets and open bazaars. While 20.6 percent of participants have never eaten out, 54 percent go out to eat at least once or twice a week, and 25 percent eat out more than three times a week,” stated Umut Avcı.
FTSO Secretary-General Füsun Şahin said real estate purchases by foreigners began in 1995 and increased consistently until 2005. Şahin noted that the locals did not get to know the foreigners very well at first and only perceived them as customers. “So the number of real estate purchases was quite low in 2005. The necessary analysis of this situation was not performed. When real estate sales dropped off, everybody had their own idea on what had caused it. But nobody looked at the big picture. So we conducted this study to see it,” stated Şahin.
National News – Resource: Today”s Zaman Newspaper
