Expressions of Housing Consumer Preferences: Proposition for a Research Agenda

Abstract

According to a “behavioural‐cultural” model of the housing market, lifestyle and images of the housing and location end‐product determine individual housing consumption behaviour and residential mobility patterns, and consequently have an effect on buyer/renter demand. On the other hand, in some market contexts a more traditional picture may be more valid. This explorative study reports qualitative evidence on residential location preferences, tastes and intentions of consumers in Randstad, Holland, using open interviews with experts who are real estate and planning professionals, and therefore familiar with the variety of consumer preferences. The results show that, for the majority of housing consumers, the functionality and spaciousness of the house itself matters more than location, and that tangible factors carry more weight than intangible ones when it comes to evaluating the physical surroundings. These findings are indicative when establishing a research agenda aimed at investigating socially inflected housing preferences.

Keywords:

• Housing Consumption
• Housing Preferences
• Market Context
• Randstad
• Holland
• Expert Interviews

Acknowledgements

This article is based on an earlier and longer paper, which was presented at the conference of the International Geographical Union, 15–20 August, 2004, Glasgow, UK. The author thanks the audience of this presentation for valuable comments. The author also thanks the anonymous referees and David Clapham for co‐operation and constructive feedback.

Notes

1. Cognitive psychologists claim that economic behaviour is goal‐oriented and thereby “rational” in a broad sense; the stimulus‐response psychologists in turn believe in mechanisms based on more immediate “rewards” (Foxall 2003).

2. It is often debated in the literature whether analysis of actual prices paid and choices made is more or less feasible/valid methodology than analysis of hypothetical prices (property values) and choices (perceptions, preferences and intentions). Revealed choice/preference models are either discrete choice models, where the dependent variable(s) represent individual choices, and the goal of the estimation (i.e. the betas, part‐worth utilities) is the propensities to make that choice, or hedonic models of the housing market, where the dependent variable is a proxy for property value – usually transaction price, and the betas constitute shadow prices of each independent characteristic of the regression. The stated choice/preference models, in turn, comprise methods where interviews replace market data calculation. For a discussion on the merits and problems of both approaches in a housing choice context, see, for example, Timmermans, Molin and van Noortwijk (1994); and in a property valuation context see, for example, Bourassa, Hoesli and Sun (2004).

3. It is important to note that responses are not facts; responses reveal more about the position of the expert interviewed than provide an objective picture of the situation. Furthermore, there are methodological difficulties concerning the motives of the agents: do the respondents align themselves with the official policy of the organization, or to the perceptions of the individual?

4. This study was carried out as part of a broader investigation that also involved a more quantitative part (see Kauko 2005).

5. On the other hand, the experts are also consumers themselves.

6. These are massive suburban, greenfield sites for new‐built housing, which were planned according to the Fourth Spatial Planning Memorandum Extra (VINEX), the first of which were implemented in 1995. This was a spatial policy solution designed by central government, in accordance with the compact city policy principles (e.g. Rietveld & Wagtendonk 2004); the idea was to utilize the existing city structure and services of adjacent areas, and to attract mainly middle‐class families with children. In the residential mix the bias is towards owner‐occupied single‐family housing.