Satisfaction and Motivation of Homeowners Towards Green Homes

Whilst green homes have been constructed by housing developers in Malaysia, developers should determine how satisfied homeowners are with their green homes. This paper first reviews data from a survey to determine the satisfaction level of homeowners towards their residence in terms of green features in Iskandar Malaysia. Next, factor analysis is carried out to identify benefits that motivate households to own green homes, and then followed by logistic regression analysis to determine the effects of motivators on housing satisfaction. Results show that homeowners are most satisfied with the green features of high ceiling, North–South orientation, double-glazed panel glass doors and windows, solar panel system and landscaped parks with facilities. Rain water harvesting system and low-flow water fixtures, on the other hand, are the least satisfied green features among homeowners. Four motivators are found that describe households’ belief about green homes: ‘Financial Incentives’, ‘Healthy and Sustainable Environment’, ‘Energy Efficiency’ and ‘Livability’. The findings also demonstrated that the extent of housing satisfaction may depend on what motivates homeowners to own green homes. It would seem that house buyers do not just demand a typical house to stay in but also sustainable houses that do not compromise the environment.     

Social Bonds and the Migration Intentions of Elderly Urban Residents: The Mediating Effect of Residential Satisfaction

Under the incorporation of social bonds within the residential satisfaction model, this study has attempted to examine why the elderly living in neighborhoods consider moving. The main hypothesis proposed in this study is that the four social bonds (friendship, social cohesion and trust, informal social control, and neighborhood activities), combined with residential satisfaction, affect the mobility intentions of elderly urban residents. This hypothesis is tested by survey data collected in 1995 from 1123 Chicago residents age 65 and over. The results support the hypothesis that strong social bonds, combined with residential satisfaction, are working as important factors when the mobility intentions of elderly urban residents are deterred.     

Evaluating indicators for housing policy: Residential satisfaction vs marginal improvement priorities

The research challenges the conventional usage of households' residential satisfaction as a guide for housing policy and development. A new housing indicator, ‘marginal residential improvement priority’, is introduced and is compared with residential satisfaction both theoretically and empirically. Within the context of neoclassical consumer theory it is shown that the former provides a superior indicator of households' housing preferences than the latter. It is then demonstrated empirically that these conceptual distinctions make for significant differences when the indicators are employed in a practical application. Using a sample of 971 households drawn from Wooster, Ohio, the paper considers their evaluations of four general dimensions of the residential environment and six specific features of the dwelling. Zero-order correlations between the indicators average only 0.40 across these ten dimensions. Households' relative satisfaction with these various aspects diverge substantially from the priority they place on improving these aspects in the future, with rank-order correlations not differing significantly from zero. More specifically, all household strata gave public services their lowest improvement priority and dwelling quality their highest, regardless of their relative degree of satisfaction with the dimension. Similarly, most groups gave high priority to improving interior condition and room size and low priority to improving exterior condition, independent of their satisfaction. Thus, if the efficacy of a limited amount of resources invested in a housing policy is to be maximized, they should not necessarily be directed toward those features of the residential environment with which households are least satisfied.     

Housing Satisfaction Related to Health and Importance of Services in Urban Slums: Evidence from Dhaka, Bangladesh

Quality of housing plays one of the key roles in a public health research, since inadequate housing may have direct or indirect negative impact on health. Higher satisfaction with housing was shown to be associated with higher income, higher age, a smaller family, higher education, being female and being an owner of a dwelling. The aim of our study is to identify the multiple sources of the satisfaction with housing in population of urban slums and rural areas in Dhaka, Bangladesh. We have used a combined variable “Housing Satisfaction”, containing nine items related to satisfaction with different types of housing facilities (water, electricity, toilet etc.). Ordinal as well as binary multiple logistic regression models were applied to predict housing satisfaction. Rural residents (with 90 % house ownership) were much more satisfied with their housing than urban slum dwellers. Those respondents who perceived their area as “Very bad/Bad” to reach medical care reported significantly higher levels of housing dissatisfaction. Low satisfaction with available facilities (education, health services, etc.) as well as the adjacent neighbourhood being perceived as negative for own health showed as well a strong predictive effect on housing dissatisfaction. The major findings of our study showed a complex relationship between housing satisfaction and the quality of basic facilities including the reachability of medical care. Understanding the factors which lead to satisfaction with housing and residential environment is crucial for planning successful and effective housing policies.     

Mobility and adjustments: Paths to the resolution of residential stress

In theory, residential mobility is a response to environmental stress only if households do not reduce dissatisfaction through other alternatives, such as housing improvements or repairs. Despite the attention given to stress-reducing alternatives, however, no attempt has been made to test empirically the residential satisfaction model with adjustments. Using data from the Annual Housing Survey: 1978-1981, I model three stages in the mobility process and investigate potential sources of specification error in previous tests. Blocks of family cycle, background/action state, and location/housing variables are shown to affect adjusting significantly. Residential satisfaction strongly affects mobility preferences; and all theoretically relevant blocks of explanatory variables predict mobility. Alternatives to mobility should be included in the residential satisfaction model.     

SPI<Superscript>+</Superscript> Application in Two Countries with the Liberal Welfare Model: Cases of United Kingdom and Chile

For this study, a comprehensive test was conducted on the net effects of age and cohort on political satisfaction in Hong Kong. We use a newly developed methodology of Age–Period–Cohort analysis known as the Cross-Classified Random Effects Model and a pooled dataset of repeated cross-sectional surveys from 1997 to 2014. The findings reveal a U-shaped relationship between age and political satisfaction, in which the level of satisfaction of the youth is between that of the middle-aged and elderly, while the middle-aged express the least satisfaction and the elderly have the highest level of satisfaction. However, cohort effects are relatively weak. There is no evidence that later cohorts are less satisfied than earlier cohorts. These results indicate that the new generation is more politically dissatisfied due to their age rather than their cohort. We also find that period effects interact with age and cohort effects. The recent decline in the political satisfaction of 20-year-olds and of the cohort born in 1986 or later is more pronounced than that of older people and earlier birth cohorts. Under the rule of the current Chief Executive, young people were found to be much more dissatisfied than older people. The rise in the price of housing in recent years has also sharpened the differences in political satisfaction between those of different ages and cohorts.     

Social Impacts of the Marking Scheme in Public Housing in Hong Kong

To improve environmental hygiene in public housing estates in Hong Kong, the Housing Department launched the Marking Scheme for Tenancy Enforcement in Public Housing Estates in 2003. The marking scheme operates as a penalty-point system where sitting tenants will be expelled from their public housing units if they receive penalty points up to a certain level for committed misdeeds. By its nature, the marking scheme is a measure to tackle neighbourhood problems or so-called antisocial behaviour (ASB) in public housing. Yet, it was implemented without comprehensive public consultation a priori. Besides, why this control selectively targets public housing tenants but not residents in other housing tenures is not justified. More importantly, no previous attempt has been made to investigate the impacts of the marking scheme. To straddle the existing research gap, this study aims to explore the social impacts brought about by the marking scheme on public housing tenants through a structured questionnaire survey. In the respondents’ eyes, the effectiveness of the scheme to rectify public housing tenants’ bad behaviour is doubtful. Moreover, harmony within families and neighbourliness seems to be undermined by the scheme. Recommendations are then provided to public administrators regarding ASB control in Hong Kong.     

Assessment of neighborhood satisfaction by residents of three housing types

A highly influential but often underemphasized determinant of residential satisfaction is how residents perceive and feel about their neighborhoods. In this study, factors representing different aspects of residents' neighborhoods were identified and examined in relation to their overall assessment of their homes and neighborhoods. Relationships among neighborhood aspects and overall housing and neighborhood assessments were examined separately for residents of conventional homes, mobile homes, and apartments. Results based on all residents indicated that evaluations of neighborhood aspects were unrelated to housing satisfaction, but were moderately related to positive sentiments and satisfaction with the neighborhood. Separate analyses by housing type revealed that neighborhood perceptions of apartment residents were influential in affecting housing satisfaction. For all residents, the neighborhood's attractiveness and pleasant-friendliness were the most important determinants of neighborhood acceptance and satisfaction. The results also indicated that despite sharing similar determinant patterns of neighborhood acceptance with the other two housing type groups, the basis for mobile home residents' evaluations was considerably less related to the factors identified as influential. The findings indicated that different neighborhood factors formed the basis for differences in overall housing and neighborhood satisfaction among residents living in the three housing types. However, since the type of housing does not by itself define a neighborhood, the differences that were found need to be considered in the larger context of other components of a neighborhood like economic and community characteristics typically associated with a specific structure type.     

利还是弊:“啃老”对老年生活满意度的影响

本文利用中国健康与养老追踪调查数据(CHARLS)2011年数据,实证分析子女"啃老"对老年人生活满意度的影响。在考虑了数据聚类特征的情况下,发现老年人向子女提供经济支持有利于老年人生活满意度的提高,而照看孙子女则降低了老年人的生活满意度。而且,上述影响在不同老年人群体间缺乏一致性,也就是存在性别、城乡、年龄、不同经济状况间的差异。此外,老年人的健康状况、年龄、受教育程度、个人经济状况及所在社区情况都会对老年人生活满意度产生影响。     

Residential satisfaction as an intervening variable in residential mobility

The stress-threshold model (Wolpert, 1965; Brown and Moore, 1970) assumes that people do not consider moving unless they experience residential stress. This paper develops a similar model of residential mobility in which residential satisfaction acts as an intervening variable between individual and residence variables and mobility. The model is tested with data from a panel study of Rhode Island residents. The results indicate that residential satisfaction at the first interview is related to the wish to move and to mobility in the year following the interview. Individual and residence characteristics such as age of head duration of residence, home ownership, and room crowding are shown to affect mobility through their effect on residential satisfaction.     

Determinants of short- and long-term mobility expectations for home owners and renters

Confusion about the role of residential satisfaction vis-à-vis structural factors in the mobility process stems from the failure to examine the determinants of mobility over varying time frames and housing tenures. Using survey data for a random sample of 580 Phoenix-area households, we test models of short-term (1 year) and long-term (5 years) mobility expectations for home owners and renters. The results show that residential satisfaction mediates the effects of structural variables on mobility expectations in the short term for home owners. In the long-term model for home owners and the short-term model for renters, the role of satisfaction as an intervening force declines in relative importance. Among renters, structural variables operate directly on long-term mobility expectations.     

Evaluating Evidence of Discrimination in Multiethnic Housing Markets

Landlords and realtors occasionally are identified as causal agents in the creation or maintenance of segregated neighborhoods. The existence of racial/ethnic separation at local scales, however, is no sure proof of illegal discriminatory acts or intentions by housing market agents. Other factors can and do produce racial/ethnic separation within neighborhoods. Applied demographic analysis can play a part in clarifying what constitutes discrimination and in evaluating the statistical data used to screen for unlawful acts of discrimination within local housing markets. We report a study of tenancy and tenancy turnover in a group of apartment buildings located in a densely settled and ethnically diverse neighborhood in Los Angeles. Turnover in these buildings altered the ethnic mix of tenants, increasing the Asian proportion and decreasing the Hispanic proportion. We trace this change to two market processes that differentiate tenants economically and by differing preferences for luxurious housing: (1) an upgrading of housing stock, which repositioned certain rental units at a higher price point; and (2) the market response to newly-available luxury units. These processes promote ethnically homogeneous apartment-building “neighborhoods” within an otherwise unsegregated ethnically diverse area.

The relevance of social interactions on housing satisfaction

For most individuals, housing is the largest consumption and investment item of their lifetime and, as a result, housing satisfaction is an important component of their quality of life. The purpose of this paper then is to investigate the determinants of individual housing satisfaction as a particular domain of satisfaction with life as a whole, examining the effects of individual and household attributes (predictive), housing characteristics (hedonic), and more importantly, of social interactions originated in one's residential neighbourhood. To do so, we model housing as a composite commodity that satisfies dwelling needs, as well as other intangibles such as familiar relationships and socio-status aspects. We use the Survey of Living Conditions and Poverty (Spain). Specifically, using a self-reported measure of housing satisfaction, we estimate ordered probit models searching for the empirical specification that provides the best fit accounting for divergences driven by aspirations defined in the own household (internal norm), and by social comparisons (peer-effect or external norm).

Life satisfaction among the rural elderly: What do the numbers mean?

Studies of life satisfaction among the elderly are based almost entirely on quantitative data, yet we have little knowledge of whether such data are consistent and valid representations of satisfaction. The present paper addresses this issue through a comparison of quantitative and qualitative data on satisfaction with housing, family, spouse, self-esteem, health, friends and life as a whole. The data were obtained from 15 elderly men and women living in rural Ontario who had participated in both a survey study of life satisfaction and an intensive qualitative study of loneliness, social activities and social relationships. The values selected by participants from scales of satisfaction were found to be fairly similar overall to judgements made by the investigators on the basis of qualitative data from interviews and diaries. But there were also a number of discrepancies across both participants and domains, and these discrepancies were not systematic. The scale values appear to be at best a superficial representation of participants' satisfaction. It is concluded that quantitative approaches are of limited utility in studies of the quality of life, and that they are most appropriately viewed as supplementary to approaches employing qualitative data and analysis.     

Residential independence among older persons: community and individual factors

The objective of this study is to evaluate an expanded version of the resource model of living arrangements among older persons. This expanded model includes community-level measures of geriatric health services and housing market conditions. We employ the first two waves of the National Survey of Families and Households to test static and longitudinal fixed effects models of residential living arrangements. We find that residing in areas with higher levels of geriatric health care services increases the likelihood of residential independence, net of other contextual factors and individual characteristics. Our results show that housing market conditions are not related to levels of or changes in residential independence when control variables are included in the models. The results for the individual-level resource variables show that persons with greater economic resources, more children, and better functional status are better able to maintain independence and are less likely to die or live in a nursing home. This study shows the utility of expanding on micro-level approaches to understanding community living arrangements among older persons. Future investigations should include measures of the policy environment, transportation constraints and opportunities, and a more complete array of indicators of health and social services oriented toward helping elderly persons maintain their independence.     

Surveying Older Adults’ Opinions on Housing: Recommendations for Policy

There is paucity of research investigating opinions and attitudes of seniors 55 years of age and older in relation to housing accommodation and services sensitive to the needs of the senior population. We describe the results of a cross-sectional survey soliciting opinions and attitudes of seniors with respect to a variety of housing issues including home ownership and home modifications. The objectives of the survey were to improve our understanding of older adults’ views and concerns about housing, and to collect information intended to provide policy makers with recommendations regarding housing services, improved access, and safety for older adults as indicated by the individual residents. Most respondents indicated a strong desire to stay and age in their own homes, and continue owning their homes. There was general agreement among those surveyed that other forms of accommodations such as seniors’ housing, congregate homes, small self-contained houses placed on the same lot as the home of a close family member, and residential care facilities were alternative housing options that are less preferred. Winter weather conditions in northern British Columbia were reported to be an important impediment for safety, community participation, and access to facilities and services. Policy implications related to housing tenure and housing conditions as important social determinants of health for seniors are discussed.     

The dynamics of homeownership among the 50+ in Europe

We use life history data covering households in 13 European countries to analyse residential moves past the age of 50. We observe four types of moves: renting to owning, owning to renting, trading up or trading down for homeowners. We find that in the younger group (aged 50–64), trading up and purchase decisions prevail; in the older group (65+), trading down and selling are more common. Overall, moves are rare, particularly in countries characterised by high transaction costs. Most moves are driven by changes in household composition (divorce, widowhood, nest leaving by children), but economic factors play a role: low-income households who are house-rich and cash-poor are more likely to sell their home late in life.     

Why is Housing Always Satisfactory? A Study into the Impact of Preference and Experience on Housing Appreciation

This study focuses on residents’ perceptions of residential quality concerning 23 different dwelling aspects. Respondents were asked to indicate their appreciation of these dwelling aspects on a scale ranging from 0 (“extremely unattractive”) to 100 (“extremely attractive”). The influence of two potential factors on the appreciation of dwelling aspects is examined: (1) preference and (2) experience. It was hypothesized that residents who live according to their preferences give higher appreciation scores than residents who do not. This should even apply to low-quality housing. Furthermore, it was argued that residents appreciate their current housing situation more than residents who do not live in that particular housing situation. This effect should be independent of preference. The impact of both preference and of experience could be confirmed. The results also showed an interaction effect between preference and experience: the positive effect of experience on appreciation is larger in residents who live in a housing situation that they do not prefer. This result would be expected if the impact of experience works to decrease the ‘gap’ in residential satisfaction due to the discrepancy between what residents have and what they want. In conclusion, why is housing always satisfactory? In this paper, housing is satisfactory because the ‘gap’ between what residents want and what they have is small; residents seem to have realistic aspirations. Furthermore, residents appreciate what they already have, even if this is not what they prefer.