Abstract
Real-estate market trends regarding housing preferences for tenure, dwelling type and size carry long term implications for cities’ spatial development and compactness. Much attention have been given to the impact of household demographics and socio-economic characteristics on joint housing choices involving tenure, dwelling type and size. However, the increasing importance attributed to leisure activities as a lifestyle choice, in particular in knowledge-based economy, suggests that lifestyle may have a significant effect on these housing preferences.
The current study investigates the hypothesis that active versus home-oriented lifestyle plays an important role in housing preferences of tenure, dwelling type and size, while controlling for household socio-economic characteristics. The choice model employed for tenure and dwelling type coupled with dwelling unit size is the multinomial logit ordered probit model (MNL-OR). The MNL-OR has the advantage of combining a discrete multinomial structure for the choice of building type and ownership, with an ordered-response structure for the dwelling unit size. This approach is preferred over the nested logit model applied in previous studies, since it does not ignore the ordered nature of apartment size. To the best of our knowledge, first application of the MNL-OR model in the context of housing preferences.
The model is applied to a data sample of 833 knowledge-workers in the Tel-Aviv metropolitan region in Israel. The effect of lifestyle on housing preferences is particularly interesting in the case of knowledge-workers due to their high income and car ownership which allow high residential mobility, and due to the importance they attribute to lifestyle. The data were collected by means of a revealed-preference web-based survey that elicited information regarding housing preferences, socio-economic characteristics, and activity patterns.
The empirical findings show that the tendency of knowledge-workers to reside in owned large dwelling units, preferably single detached houses, increases with high engagement in home-oriented activities, while the tendency to reside in small rented apartments increases with the tendency to lead an active lifestyle full of cultural, entertainment and sport activities.
The current study investigates the hypothesis that active versus home-oriented lifestyle plays an important role in housing preferences of tenure, dwelling type and size, while controlling for household socio-economic characteristics. The choice model employed for tenure and dwelling type coupled with dwelling unit size is the multinomial logit ordered probit model (MNL-OR). The MNL-OR has the advantage of combining a discrete multinomial structure for the choice of building type and ownership, with an ordered-response structure for the dwelling unit size. This approach is preferred over the nested logit model applied in previous studies, since it does not ignore the ordered nature of apartment size. To the best of our knowledge, first application of the MNL-OR model in the context of housing preferences.
The model is applied to a data sample of 833 knowledge-workers in the Tel-Aviv metropolitan region in Israel. The effect of lifestyle on housing preferences is particularly interesting in the case of knowledge-workers due to their high income and car ownership which allow high residential mobility, and due to the importance they attribute to lifestyle. The data were collected by means of a revealed-preference web-based survey that elicited information regarding housing preferences, socio-economic characteristics, and activity patterns.
The empirical findings show that the tendency of knowledge-workers to reside in owned large dwelling units, preferably single detached houses, increases with high engagement in home-oriented activities, while the tendency to reside in small rented apartments increases with the tendency to lead an active lifestyle full of cultural, entertainment and sport activities.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication date | 2012 |
| Publication status | Published - 2012 |
| Event | 9th World Congress of Regional Science Association International: Changing spatial patterns in a globalising world - Timisoara, Romania Duration: 9 May 2012 → 12 May 2012 http://www.rsai2012.uvt.ro/ |
Conference
| Conference | 9th World Congress of Regional Science Association International |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Romania |
| City | Timisoara |
| Period | 09/05/2012 → 12/05/2012 |
| Internet address |
Keywords
- Knowledge-workers
- Housing
- MNL-OR
