User’s satisfaction with private housing estates in Abuja using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)

ABSTRACT The underlying factors of housing research emanate from the fact that people's lives and well-being rely on the quality of the house and the surroundings where it is situated. Housing satisfaction goes beyond brick and mortar and aesthetics. It examines housing attributes that are not already visible to the eyes that could influence the occupants’ satisfaction with such buildings. This study investigated user's satisfaction with private housing estates using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). The research is imperative because most studies in Nigeria focused mainly on government-owned or social housing satisfaction. While private housing estates have received little attention over the years. 280 questionnaires were randomly distributed to the building occupants within the estates under consideration based on their level of availability during the 13 weeks surveyed periods. From the survey, the top-ranked factors that influence user satisfaction were utility adequacy, infrastructural, provision of facilities, and maintenance factors with the priority weight of 0.425, 0.235, and 0.203 accordingly. Therefore, real estate practitioners and housing developers must take these housing attributes into proper consideration to promoting a better quality of living, enhancing building performance that could increase the total return on investment, and meet the overall user satisfaction.