A user oriented housing choice model

When choosing housing, individuals are often confronted with a fait accompli. Take what is offered, or leave it. Design is often based on past buying habits, but these do not necessarily represent design options that the consumer would prefer. In this study, a methodology to analyze the stated needs and preferences of residents of new rental housing is presented. The methodology based on data collected from extensive home interviews incorporates: (1) descriptions and definitions of underlying dimensions utilized in housing choice, (2) the determination of the similarity of existing and proposed offerings, and (3) the identification of homogeneous user groups and social characteristics of these groups to aid in the development of a model to help estimate user response to design innovations. The model makes use of multidimensional scaling techniques to assist in the analysis of detailed questions on housing attributes and overall rankings of the housing choices themselves. For the group studied, major dimensions of choice were determined to be size, value and luxury. Interior space attributes were considered more important than location and accessibility to activities. The study concludes with a discussion of the application of these measurements to the development of design criteria.