U.S. Housing: Determinants of Structural Adequacy and Crowding

Abstract

This paper studies structural adequacy and crowding as dimensions of housing quality. American Housing Survey of Metropolitan Areas data for seven metropolitan areas, Atlanta (Georgia), Baltimore (Maryland), New York (New York), St. Louis (Missouri), San Diego (California), Seattle (Washington), and Washington D.C. are analyzed using a logit model to determine the factors that influence structural adequacy and crowding. We report the prevalence of structural adequacy and crowding in the seven metropolitan areas. A logit model of the determinants of structural adequacy and crowding is specified and estimated. The data reveal that there exist significant disparities in housing quality across metropolitan areas and population groups by race, household type, tenure, and central city or suburban location. The results of the logit analysis indicate that even after statistically adjusting for many factors, race, tenure, location, household type, age of the structure and income are significant in determining housing quality. We find that while structural adequacy has stronger economic and engineering determinants, such as, income, vehicle ownership, unit type and age of the building, crowding has stronger cultural and life-cycle determinants, such as, race, education and presence of young children.