| Abstract: | ![]()
This article introduces a conceptual model of housing quality that emphasizes consumers' experience of improvements during their lifetime. Following a review of the widely recognized inadequacies associated with the traditional indicators of housing quality, a ‘housing progress’ model is offered as an alternative method for conceptualizing the quality of persons' housing experiences. This model suggests that changes in the level of housing well-being are reflected by changes in the rate at which households move toward their personal housing preferences. To operationalize this concept, four indicators are developed that are based on the pattern of housing unit exchanges achieved by movers each year between 1973 and 1977. The indicators reveal a pronounced downtum in progress (on the order of 20 percent) with the fall in construction between 1973 and 1975. After 1975, progress increased with the rise in construction, but there is evidence of a widening gap between the housing opportunities of owners and renters. |
