Development of Scales to Assess Homeownership Consumption and Investment Attitudes

Abstract

A method to measure homeowners' housing consumption and investment atti tudes was developed. Dimensions in the consumption scale were space, tenure, structure, quality, and neighborhood. The investment scale included tax ben efits, equity, rate of return, leverage, and risk. Personal variables (income, social status, homeownership experience, investment experience, and parents' invest ment experience) were hypothesized to have an effect on overall consumption and investment attitudes. Thirty‐five Likert‐ranked statements were used for each scale. The data were collected by mail survey from 222 homeowners in Linn County, Oregon. Reliability was determined by item‐analysis and Cronbach alpha (Consumption Attitude Scale = 0.71273, Investment Attitude Scale = 0.68323). A positive linear correlation between the two attitude scale mean scores (r= 0.2846, p= 0.001) was found, but the two attitude scales related differently to the personal variables. No significant (p < 0.05) differences in the Homeown ership Consumption Attitude Scale mean scores were explained by the personal variables, while all personal variables except homeownership experience were positively related to Homeownership Investment Attitude Scale mean scores (p < 0.05). In addition, since only seven of the 25 possible dimension pairs between the two scales were positively correlated (p < 0.05), while eight and nine out of ten possible pairs within the investment and consumption scales, respectively, were correlated, the independence of these two attitudes may be theorized. Fur ther work could refine the attitude scale statements and extend the analysis to behavioral intentions, using a wider array of external variables.