Foreigners sell homes due to mortgage crisis
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 20, 2009 00:00
İZMİR - Foreigners, who bought houses in tourism areas in the West, such as Marmaris, Bodrum or Didim, have begun to sell their villas as they can no longer repay their mortgage debts, according to a report by a local newspaper.
The mortgage crisis has forced expatriates in Turkey to sell their houses, a local newspaper in the Aegean region has reported.
According to the local newspaper Yeni Asır, buying houses and settling in Muğla’s Fethiye, Marmaris, Bodrum, and Aydın’s Didim districts, foreigners have put up their house for sale as they no longer afford to pay monthly repayments. Some houses on the other hand have been put up for sale by the banks.
"There are almost 10,000 ready houses in Muğla, however, people are not willing to buy houses at this time. The construction sector has come to a standstill," said İlhan Açıkgöz, the chairman of the South Aegean Tourism Facilities and Hotels Union, or GETOB.
Some 2,500 houses out of 6,500 owned by British citizens in Muğla’s Fethiye district are on sale. Some foreigners have started to use their villas as bed and breakfasts in order to ensure some revenue, while some others have already sold their houses. Some 200 English residents sold their houses in Aydın’s Didim district.
Difficulty in paying taxes
Saying that the people cannot pay off their mortgages because of the economic crisis, Ziya Ercan, the vice chairman of the Real Estate Counselors Federation, also added: "Fethiye is the district most severely affected by the crisis. Foreigners own 40 percent of the total property in Muğla."
"British citizens, who wanted to buy houses in Muğla, got mortgages in England. With the outbreak of the crisis, the banks have begun to sell the attached houses, whose installments cannot be paid by their owners. The mortgage crisis has seriously harmed Fethiye," said Nevzat Tilkici, chairman of Fethiye Real Estate Agencies Foundation.
Saying that some of the English have rent their houses as apart hotels, which negatively affects the national economy, Tilkici also noted "some of the English owners rent their houses to their neighbors in their countries. They do not pay any tax. They just come, hold parties and have fun in their houses. This undermines the revenues of the entertainment sector, taxi drivers, and alcohol sellers."
"British citizens own 10,000 houses in Didim. The owners have put up some 200 of these houses for sale either to buy a better houses by barter, or to make profit", said Osman Coşkun, chairman of Didim Real Estate Agencies Foundation.
Ömer Yetgin, the chairman of Bodrum Real Estate Counselors Foundation, on the other hand, is of the opinion that the economic crisis has not affected foreigners living in Bodrum.
"Very few of the 500 houses owned by foreigners are on sale in the district. Those who bought houses for investment purposes, tend to sell only the houses where they do not dwell," Yetgin added.
İlhan Açıkgöz, chairman of South Aegean Tourism Facilities and Hotels Federation, also said the current economic crisis has seriously affected Muğla tourism.
"They anticipate a decrease of 15 percent in the number of tourists in the coming season. If we think that the crisis has not fully affected Turkey yet, it is inevitable that the crisis will deepen. The alienation of the tourists from Muğla will definitely result in the contraction in many business lines, particularly entertainment, transportation and accommodation."
According to the local newspaper Yeni Asır, buying houses and settling in Muğla’s Fethiye, Marmaris, Bodrum, and Aydın’s Didim districts, foreigners have put up their house for sale as they no longer afford to pay monthly repayments. Some houses on the other hand have been put up for sale by the banks.
"There are almost 10,000 ready houses in Muğla, however, people are not willing to buy houses at this time. The construction sector has come to a standstill," said İlhan Açıkgöz, the chairman of the South Aegean Tourism Facilities and Hotels Union, or GETOB.
Some 2,500 houses out of 6,500 owned by British citizens in Muğla’s Fethiye district are on sale. Some foreigners have started to use their villas as bed and breakfasts in order to ensure some revenue, while some others have already sold their houses. Some 200 English residents sold their houses in Aydın’s Didim district.
Difficulty in paying taxes
Saying that the people cannot pay off their mortgages because of the economic crisis, Ziya Ercan, the vice chairman of the Real Estate Counselors Federation, also added: "Fethiye is the district most severely affected by the crisis. Foreigners own 40 percent of the total property in Muğla."
"British citizens, who wanted to buy houses in Muğla, got mortgages in England. With the outbreak of the crisis, the banks have begun to sell the attached houses, whose installments cannot be paid by their owners. The mortgage crisis has seriously harmed Fethiye," said Nevzat Tilkici, chairman of Fethiye Real Estate Agencies Foundation.
Saying that some of the English have rent their houses as apart hotels, which negatively affects the national economy, Tilkici also noted "some of the English owners rent their houses to their neighbors in their countries. They do not pay any tax. They just come, hold parties and have fun in their houses. This undermines the revenues of the entertainment sector, taxi drivers, and alcohol sellers."
"British citizens own 10,000 houses in Didim. The owners have put up some 200 of these houses for sale either to buy a better houses by barter, or to make profit", said Osman Coşkun, chairman of Didim Real Estate Agencies Foundation.
Ömer Yetgin, the chairman of Bodrum Real Estate Counselors Foundation, on the other hand, is of the opinion that the economic crisis has not affected foreigners living in Bodrum.
"Very few of the 500 houses owned by foreigners are on sale in the district. Those who bought houses for investment purposes, tend to sell only the houses where they do not dwell," Yetgin added.
İlhan Açıkgöz, chairman of South Aegean Tourism Facilities and Hotels Federation, also said the current economic crisis has seriously affected Muğla tourism.
"They anticipate a decrease of 15 percent in the number of tourists in the coming season. If we think that the crisis has not fully affected Turkey yet, it is inevitable that the crisis will deepen. The alienation of the tourists from Muğla will definitely result in the contraction in many business lines, particularly entertainment, transportation and accommodation."