Segmentation of Homebuyers by Location Choice Preferences

Abstract

Edmonton, Alberta, has been experiencing rapid population growth and its associated housing pressures for the past decade. Municipalities like Edmonton are attempting to promote compact, transit-oriented, and infill housing development with policy while accommodating large increases in a population that may demand traditional suburban housing options. This article examined homebuyers’ opinions and preferences regarding their home location choice and found three distinct segments of homebuyers. These segments were established using a Q methodology to group homebuyers by their shared opinions as opposed to traditional sociodemographic or socioeconomic variables. These groups illustrate different perspectives regarding the everyday transportation choices, home attributes, and neighborhood predilections that comprise a home location choice. The identification of these groups of homebuyers provides insights for municipalities attempting to attract and retain citizens in redeveloped housing areas and assists to dissuade greenfield sprawling development.

Keywords:

• Housing choice
• segmentation
• infill development
• location efficiency
• Q method
• urban planning

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the reviewers for their time, insights, and suggestions in strengthening this article. The authors wish to acknowledge the assistance of Dr. Damian Collins (University of Alberta), who provided guidance and advice for this article.

Notes

1. Residential infill is considered the development of new housing in established neighborhoods. This new housing may include secondary suites, garage suites, duplexes, semidetached and detached houses, laneway homes, row houses, and other residential and mixed-use buildings.

2. In an extensive international literature review, Harris (2010) proposed a definition of suburban consisting of three components: density, location, and newness. For the purpose of this study, the term suburban or developing area will be utilized to describe housing areas that comprise a majority of single-detached family homes (density), are parts of an urban or metropolitan area outside the core or historical city area (location), and are considered new compared with other areas of the city (Forsyth, 2012). The term mature neighborhoods will refer to areas that are generally outside the inner city core and were completed prior to 1970.

3. Densities in recent residential Edmonton developments average 30 to 35 dwelling units per residential hectare (du/nrha) compared with averages of 26 du/nrha for mature areas and 24 du/nrha for established areas (City of Edmonton, 2014a).