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.