Money can't buy good neighbours

What position do members of non-Western ethnic minorities occupy on the housing market? How is that position developing and how can it be explained? This study shows among other things the extent to which ethnic minority households live in an owner-occupier home, how big their home is and how satisfied they are with their home and their neighbourhood. The fact that Dutch citizens of Turkish, Moroccan, Surinamese and Antillean origin are in a less favourable position on the housing market than indigenous Dutch citizens is related among other things to their lower income and the available housing stock in the large cities, where many members of ethnic minorities live.

Through group interviews, this study looks more closely at why households of Turkish and Moroccan origin, in particular, have a weak position on the housing market, living in small rented homes in areas with high concentrations of ethnic minorities and low social status. Money can't buy you good neighbours is an adapted version of a Turkish saying, which expresses the view that living in a familiar neighbourhood is often more important than a fine house. It is here that a large part of the explanation lies.

This study was carried out at the request of the Dutch Minister for Housing, Communities and Integration.