Groups Of Homeowners Research Articles

Homeowners’ Prioritization of Landscape Features Regarding Aesthetic, Environmental, Financial, and Psychological Benefits

Maintaining and caring for residential landscapes is a crucial aspect of homeownership in the United States. For homeowners in the United States, residential lawns represent a significant economic investment, signal their social commitments, and reflect their personal characters. To investigate the differences in Florida homeowners’ priorities regarding residential landscape features, an online survey of 1220 homeowners was conducted. Four different groups of homeowners were identified based on their perceived importance of the four landscape features, namely, environmental, financial, aesthetic, and psychological benefits. Factors such as environmental and financial attitudes and social norms influencing homeowners’ decision-making were examined. The findings revealed that homeowners’ knowledge of landscaping practices and environmental attitudes impact their prioritization regarding landscape features.

Defining sustainable home renovators in Australia

Home renovation is a global phenomenon, where households seek to remodel, reconfigure, and retrofit their home. While often a response to the material conditions of a dwelling, such as decay and damage, renovation also as emerges as a practice central to identity creation, sense of home, and leisure. Importantly, improving household sustainability is increasingly driving renovation activities, as governments and households seek to reduce the environmental impact of residential dwellings. Drawing on data collected from a national survey developed by the authors, this paper explores sustainable renovation practices in Australia. The paper provides a three-level analysis of home renovators. First, the paper profiles recent renovators. Second, the extent to which sustainability was considered by recent renovators during the renovation process is investigated. Third, the relationship between personal values placed on household sustainability and the sustainable renovation practices are explored. The analysis reveals that sustainability is an important renovation driver. However, sustainable renovation practices differ between groups of homeowners, with educated and wealthy homeowners most likely to undertake sustainable renovation. Further, those with a stronger commitment to household sustainability are the most likely to include expensive sustainability technologies as part of their renovations. However, it is younger households, who are less committed to the principles of household sustainability, that are most likely to access government subsidies to support the inclusion of these technologies as part of their renovation. The different profiles and actions of these renovator groups reveal a series of challenges and opportunities for governments seeking to promote household sustainability.

НЕРАВЕНСТВО В СИБИРСКОМ ГОРОДЕ НАЧАЛА XX В. ПО ДАННЫМ УЧЕТА НАСЕЛЕНИЯ В ЦЕЛЯХ ОБЛОЖЕНИЯ КВАРТИРНЫМ НАЛОГОМ (БАРНАУЛ, 1910 г.)

The problem of inequality of the late imperial Russia population is studied for the first time on the materials of “Statements of homeowners for the apartment tax”. The source contains primary data for the city of Barnaul for 1910 on the cost of rent for homeowners and tenants, both for wealthy citizens (subject for taxation) and the poor (exempt from the tax). The decile coefficient of inequality was 8.6. Taking into account the specific features of the source, one should think that the indicator of income inequality of the Barnaul population was even higher. Comparison of decile coefficients, as well as the absolute size of the house rental cost, for different groups of the Barnaul population made it possible to conclude that inequality is interconnected with two important features of the urban life. First, the decile coefficient of inequality among immigrants turned out to be much lower than among those assigned to the city. Second, the groups of homeowners and tenants, by contrast, were similar in terms of the decile coefficient of inequality, but significantly different in terms of the average house rental cost. The study provides new statistical data for discussing the problem of inequality in the early 20th century Russia, introduces into circulation previously unused characteristics of the urban society of that period and opens up the possibility of comparing different cities on the basis of sources newly introduced into scientific circulation.

Flood-Resilient Communities: How We Can Encourage Adaptive Behaviour Through Smart Tools in Public–Private Interaction

To achieve a more flood-resilient society, it is essential to involve citizens. Therefore, new instruments, such as tailor-made advice for homeowners, are being developed to inform homeowners about adaptive strategies in building to motivate them to implement these measures. This article evaluates if public–private interactions, such as tailored advice, change risk behaviour and therefore increase flood resilience among homeowners. The article conducted semi-structured interviews with homeowners who had received advice as well as involved experts in two case study regions in Europe: Flanders in Belgium and Vorarlberg in Austria. The results show how the tailored advice helps homeowners who are already aware of flood risks and provides them with answers on how to adapt a house. However, the tool seems to lack the ability to inform and “recruit” new groups of homeowners who are not as familiar with flood risks. As such, this article concludes that this initiative has a relatively low impact in raising flood risk awareness among homeowners but may be more successful in serving as a tool that suggests tailored property-level flood risk adaptation measures for those who are already aware. Alternatively, more automated tailored information systems might be more efficient for unaware homeowners.

Risk perceptions and economic incentives for mitigating windstorm damage to housing

ABSTRACT Mitigation measures such as window shutters can substantially reduce windstorm damage to housing. However, the cost-effectiveness of wind mitigation measures remains unclear when considering influencing factors such as financial protection via insurance, individual risk perceptions and planning time horizons. Economic incentives may also be provided to motivate homeowners to invest in mitigation. In this study, the installation of cyclone-rated window shutters as a mitigation measure for homeowners in Australia is used as a case study. A life-cycle cost analysis in conjunction with a rank-dependent expected utility model are employed to identify economic incentives that are financially attractive to homeowners with different perceived risks and planning time horizons. The effect of home insurance is also taken into account. The results suggest that, as expected, the economic incentives needed to promote window shutters among homeowners decrease with the perceived storm damage risk and planning time horizon. A rebate for shutter installation cost or a discounted insurance premium have been found to be feasible economic incentives considering a typical planning time horizon of ten years. Statistical surveys are needed in future work to calibrate the parameters within the rank-dependent utility model to better represent the risk perceptions of different groups of homeowners.

Homeowners' Decisions Towards Energy Renovations - Critical Stages and Sources of Information

The European Commission aims to decrease GHG emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 (EU, 2017). The housing stock has a considerable share that equals to 40% of energy consumption and 36% of emissions in the EU. The current research aims to evaluate the homeowners’ energy renovation decisions on the exterior, interior, and insulation/installation of their house. The householders’ renovation decisions are analyzed with regards to (1) which stages to help/support and (2) what information is essential in the renovation process. Considering the extent of difficulty for private homeowners’ in accessing information and complexity in conducting the renovation, transaction cost (TC) theory is applied in understanding the decisions. The data has been collected through a survey among 3,776 of the Dutch homeowners in 2012. Then, statistical and logistic regression analysis has been conducted to analyze the renovation decisions for two groups of homeowners: renovators and potential renovators. According to the results and the outcomes of this study: (1) For the renovators: (a) the main identified stages in getting help are in carrying out the renovation, determining the costs, and looking for the reliable professional/ contractor, (b) the main identified sources of information are at the maintenance/ installation companies, family/ friends, and via internet; (2) For the potential renovators: (a) the main identified help stages are in determining the costs, looking for a reliable professional and carrying out the renovation/ improvement, (b) the main identified sources of information are via the internet, by a maintenance/ installation companies, and family/ friends. The main difference among the renovators is for insulation/ installation. The most significant stage in getting help for insulation/installation is to find out the most efficient solutions. Similar results have been found for the potential renovators; the only difference was in the order of the influencing factors.

The Equity Effects of Property Tax Caps: Evidence from Florida

AbstractOver the last decade Florida property owners have saved billions of dollars in taxes due to a 1995 assessment cap initiative which reduced homeowner’s tax burdens. Florida is not alone in passing assessment caps, 20 other states have passed similar property tax reductions. Proponents of Florida’s initiative said the measure would protect the elderly, many of whom live on fixed incomes in retirement, from property tax inflation. This research examines the vertical and horizontal equity effects of assessment caps. Using data from a large MSA in Florida, the results provide new evidence on which groups of homeowners are more likely to benefit from these types of initiatives.

Homeowner satisfaction with low-carbon heating technologies

Positive word-of-mouth communication resulting from the experiences of early adopters is a crucial factor in the uptake and diffusion of low-carbon energy technologies over time. Hence, the goal of this research is to study homeowner satisfaction with respect to residential heating systems (RHS) based on renewable energies. In particular, this paper focuses on the role of attributes of the home, homeowners’ socio-demographic characteristics, RHS-related knowledge, and adoption motivations. For this purpose, we apply a linear regression model on a dataset obtained from a survey among homeowners in Germany (N = 2135) that had adopted an RHS shortly before the survey was conducted. Moreover, we investigate differences between groups of homeowners by means of t-tests and ANOVA. Our research shows that the fulfilment of the motivations for adopting an RHS are relevant factors explaining satisfaction with newly adopted RHS. In particular, the preference to have an RHS that is compatible with daily habits and routines has a strong impact on satisfaction. Furthermore, we find the degree of RHS-related knowledge relevant as well. Socio-demographic aspects – such as age, university degree, gender or income – are found to be less important. We also find differences between groups of adopters. Specifically, adopters of a gas-fired condensing boiler with solar thermal support or a heat pump are less satisfied than adopters of a wood pellet-fired boiler. We conclude that information and education campaigns on clean energy technologies such as RHS based on renewable energies may have a positive impact on homeowner satisfaction resulting in a positive word-of-mouth recommendation and influenec of others.

Beyond Technology Adoption: Homeowner Satisfaction with Newly Adopted Residential Heating Systems

In this paper we study homeowner satisfaction with respect to innovative residential heating systems. In particular, we focus on the role of attributes of the home, homeowners’ socio-demographic characteristics, RHS-related knowledge, and adoption motivations. For this purpose, we apply a linear regression model on a dataset obtained from a survey among homeowners in Germany (N=2,135) that had adopted a RHS shortly before the survey was conducted. Moreover, we investigate differences between groups of homeowners by means of t-tests and ANOVA. Our research shows that the motivations for adopting an RHS are relevant factors explaining satisfaction with newly adopted RHS. Moreover, we find the degree of RHS-related knowledge relevant as well. Socio-demographic aspects – such as age, university degree, gender or income – are found to be less important. In particular, the preference to have an RHS that is compatible with daily habits and routines has a strong impact on satisfaction. We also find differences between groups of adopters. Specifically, adopters of a gas-fired condensing boiler or a heat pump are less satisfied than adopters of a wood pellet-fired boiler. The findings of this study may also contribute to a better understanding of factors influencing the word to mouth communication resulting in the uptake and diffusion of certain RHS over time.

Factors affecting flood insurance purchase in residential properties in Johor, Malaysia

Abstract. High-impact floods have become a virtually annual experience in Malaysia, yet flood insurance has remained a grossly neglected part of comprehensive integrated flood risk management. Using discriminant analysis, this study seeks to identify the demand-side variables that best predict flood insurance purchase and risk aversion between two groups of residential homeowners in three districts of Johor State, Malaysia: those who purchased flood insurance and those who did not. Our results revealed an overall 34% purchase rate, with Kota Tinggi district having the highest (44%) and thus the highest degree of flood risk aversion. The Wilks' lambda F test for equality of group means, standardised discriminant function coefficients, structure correlation, and canonical correlation has clearly shown that there are strong significant attribute differences between the two groups of homeowners, based on the measures of objective flood risk exposure, subjective risk perception, and socio-economic cum demographic variables. However, the measures of subjective risk perception were found to be more predictive of flood insurance purchase and flood risk aversion.

The Rose-Colored Glasses of Homeowners

Based on annual household surveys between 2003 and 2012, we show that owners have a rosy picture of their current house value and hold optimistic views on the historical and expected change in house value compared to general price trends. Optimism is both driven by loss aversion and an endowment effect as overestimation of the house value is positively related to the mortgage loan-to-value ratio and tenure of the owner-occupier. After several years of national declines in house prices, the estimates in our sample have become more realistic but the glasses of homeowners remain rose-colored. Even groups of homeowners that are arguably well-informed, e.g. homeowners with moving plans and homeowners that are in charge of household finances, overestimate the value of their house.

Effectiveness of educational tools for hurricane resilience in homes

PurposeIn the disaster mitigation community, one of the most important tasks is that of information transfer prior to, and following natural disasters. The purpose of this research project was to increase the understanding of key aspects (such as attractiveness and educational value) that influence the utility and effectiveness of educational media tools for home resilience during hurricanes.Design/methodology/approachA total of three types of educational media were developed – pulp board coasters, tri‐fold pamphlets, and a web hosted video. The contents of these media were developed based on data from federal agencies, as well as scholarly articles and technical reports to form an inclusive body of information. Several focus groups of homeowners and potential homeowners were held to evaluate participant's preference of these three media tools with regards to their usefulness for making homes safer during natural disasters, specifically during wind and wind‐driven rain events (e.g. hurricanes).FindingsAnalysis of the focus groups indicate that media use (based on disaster prevention home resilience practices) is highly dependent on the target audience or the stakeholder group (e.g. consumers look for different information content as compared to the builders). While all three media were indicated by the participants to have merit, the pamphlet was preferred aesthetically and was most likely to be used by homeowners. In addition, the study found that the usefulness of the tools depends on the ease of understanding and implementation of the best practices and ease of access to the tools (targeted location for each media).Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of the study have implications for the entire disaster educational community. Although the findings are mostly qualitative and the small sample used in the focus groups limits the generalize ability to the entire population of the USA, nevertheless, future educational information and tools used should follow easy to understand language, be illustrated with examples and pictures, and be placed at convenient locations for homeowners to access.Originality/valueBy understanding how to better reach homeowners with information on home resilience, information can be more effectively disseminated to the public which allows for efficient use of tools as well as funds.

Homeowners' preferences for adopting innovative residential heating systems: A discrete choice analysis for Germany

Space heating accounts for a large fraction of the primary energy consumption and CO2 emissions of residential buildings in Germany. Besides targeting the insulation standard, innovative (i.e. renewable energies-based and/or energy-efficient) residential heating systems (RHS) offer the potential to reduce CO2 emissions from space heating. Therefore, understanding the determinants of the RHS adoption decision becomes increasingly important. In this paper, we analyze the influence of preferences about RHS-specific attributes on the homeowners' adoption decision. Moreover, we control for the influence of socio-demographic, home and spatial characteristics. To this end, we specify the discrete appliance choice by a multinomial logit model and apply it to representative survey data for Germany. Our findings show that there are different drivers for the adoption of innovative RHS (partly) based on renewable energies in newly built and existing 1- and 2-family homes, and that the importance of key drivers also differs across groups of homeowners and RHS, respectively. First, we find that adopters of a gas- and oil-fired condensing boiler with solar thermal support have a strong preference for energy savings, while adopters of a heat pump or wood pellet-fired boiler prefer being more independent from fossil fuels. Second, we find that owners of existing homes have less scope for preferences in the RHS adoption decision. The decision to replace a RHS in an existing home is rather driven by socio-demographic, home and spatial characteristics. Third, our findings are quite contrary for newly built homes. Here, preferences about RHS specific attributes are found to be highly relevant, while there is less evidence for an influence of socio-demographic, home and spatial characteristics on the adoption decision.

Homeowners’ Preferences for Adopting Residential Heating Systems: A Discrete Choice Analysis for Germany

Space heating accounts for a large fraction of the primary energy consumption and CO2 emissions of residential buildings. Besides targeting the insulation standard, residential heating systems (RHS) offer the potential to reduce energy demand for space heating. Therefore, understanding the determinants of the RHS adoption decision becomes increasingly important. In this paper, we analyze the influence of preferences about RHS-specific attributes on the homeowners’ adoption decision. Moreover, we con-trol for the influence of socio-demographic, home and spatial characteristics. To this end, we specify the discrete appliance choice by a multinomial logit model and apply it to representative survey data for Germany. Our findings show that there are different drivers for the adoption of RHS in newly built and existing 1- and 2-family homes, and that the importance of key drivers also differs across groups of homeowners and RHS, respectively. First, we find that adopters of a gas- and oil-fired condensing boiler with solar thermal support have a strong preference for energy savings, while adopters of a heat pump or wood pellet-fired boiler prefer being more independent from fossil fuels. Second, we find that owners of existing homes have less scope for preferences in the RHS adoption decision. The decision to replace a RHS in an existing home is rather driven by socio-demographic, home and spatial charac-teristics. Third, our findings are quite contrary for newly built homes. Here, preferences about RHS specific attributes are found to be highly relevant, while there is less evidence for an influence of so-cio-demographic, home and spatial characteristics on the adoption decision.

Are Home and Auto Insurance Policies Excessively Priced in Cities? Recent Evidence from Michigan

ABSTRACT:Our study contributes to the growing literature on how insurance industry practices vary across space in ways that may unfairly penalize central cities. We utilize a unique, comprehensive database that allows us to examine the spatial patterns of premiums collected and claims paid out to policyholders for all home and auto insurance companies in Michigan during 2001–2002. As a result, we can test whether higher premiums typically charged in urban areas are justified by the higher claims losses incurred there. Territories that persistently evince low ratios of losses to premiums for a given policy type, all else equal, provide prima facie evidence of excessive premium-setting. We analyze three groups of homeowners’ policies, delineated by the comprehensiveness of perils covered and the nature and level of compensation provided in case of loss, and three auto policy types—mandatory, collision, and comprehensive coverage. We find that both premiums and claims losses are higher in urban than suburban areas of Michigan, on average. However, the mean loss ratios for all segments of the home insurance market are not systematically lower in urban areas, even after a host of proxies for transactions costs are employed as controls. The same results appertain in the case of auto insurance across all but one policy type, comprehensive, where loss ratios are 16% lower in urban compared to suburban territories statewide, all else equal.

A RECRUITING CHALLENGE FOR EXTENSION EDUCATION: A COMPARISON OF NONPARTICIPANTS AND PARTICIPANTS IN HOMEOWNER LANDSCAPING PROGRAMS

This study examines factors which influence homeowners’ participation in a Cooperative Extension Service (CES) yard care program. A survey was administered to two groups of homeowners -- program participants and nonparticipants from the same area. Six hundred fifty-two participants who attended one of 24 CES workshops completed a survey during Spring, 2000. The comparison group, a random sample of homeowners, was selected from the list of single-family residences from the same area. A total of 462 homeowners returned usable surveys for the comparison group. The data show that some market segments were better represented among participants, including persons with a college degree, using an irrigation system, a high level of sharing information, less concern about neighborhood norms, and more frequent use of CES services, than nonparticipants. No significant bias was found for environmental behavior. The findings suggest that improved recruiting can expand CES’ outreach efforts.

The Affluent Home Owner: Labour Market Position and the Shaping of Housing Histories

This article draws on research designed to explore aspects of social stratification within owner occupation. The research reconstructed and compared the housing, employment and family histories of two groups of home owners in two contrasting localities in Bristol. This article focuses on the top end of the owner occupied market, a neglected area in the sociology of housing, and explores the connections between bargaining power in the labour market and the shaping of housing histories. It is argued that core workers in the labour market exercise choice in the housing market within a framework of job determined constraints. These constraints are accompanied by a range of subsidies and benefits which are unavailable to the majority of households. As a consequence it is suggested that this group's housing histories are shaped by qualitatively distinct processes which go beyond the single fact that their earned incomes are relatively large.