Private Sector Housing Research Articles

Causal relationship between private housing investment and economic growth

Purpose The paper aims to provide a better understanding of the interactions between housing investment and economic growth. In particular, the paper emphasizes the separate effects of private housing investment (PHI) on the aggregate economy using quarterly data in the UK from 1974 to 2015. This is important due to the relatively growing interest around the world, including the UK, in encouraging greater private housing investment as a way of boosting economic growth. Design/methodology/approach The paper used the widely accepted and recognized econometric concepts of unit root, Granger causality and co-integration and provides tentative quantitative evidence of the causal and predictive effect of PHI and economic growth. Findings The key finding is that the level of investment directed by individual and institution into the private housing sector is key to future development, and will strongly reduce economic performance volatility. Research limitations/implications Given that this is a bivariate time series analysis of PHI and economic growth (proxy by gross domestic product), the conclusions of this paper need to treated with caution, as there are other potential variables that might be omitted to make the model more robust so as to reach a more conclusive result. Originality/value This study complements existing literature, not only by providing new empirical evidence on the nexus between housing markets and the business cycle but also by being the pioneering attempt at examining the impact of PHI on the economy in the UK.

Housing market and class formation in the Colombo Metropolitan Region: a sociological aspect

The main focus of the study is on understanding the emerging relationship between state, market and social classes in the Colombo Metropolitan Region (CMR) in the context of emerging housing market and citizens’ access to a livable house in the Colombo city and its suburbs. This main objective is achieved through the questions of enquiry, listed as: to identify the role of state on formulating various housing policies and their implementation; to describe emerging institutional mechanisms, public or private in facilitating, developing and implementing land and housing properties; to investigate the housing market and its socio-economic impacts on the residents of three communities under focus; to examine residential patterns and formation of social classes in the communities; and to enquire into the nature and forms of relationship among the state, the market and the social classes in regard to urban housing. The main research question addressed in this study is to investigate the impact of recent neoliberalisation policy on urban housing, more so in the context of CMR. The commercialization of housing as a commodity by the private builders, whom the state has found impossible to exclude, due to its dwindling resources and infra-structure, has successfully manipulated the consumerist zeal of consumers, both rich and poor alike, obsessed with status consciousness. Three housing units have been studied in detail;Shahaspura (a heterogeneous public sector condominium housing complex inhabited by lower class residents), Mattegoda (a public sector housing complex inhabited by lower middle class residents), and Millennium City (a private sector housing complex inhabited by middle & upper middle class residents). In all, 325 households were selected randomly for a primary household survey. The sample survey was supplemented by qualitative data collected from respondents by contacting them for detailed informal interviews and non-participant observation. Secondary data presented by the research paper relates to the changing housing policies under various political regimes in the country; constituted institutional bodies to implement land development; housing and policy interventions; emerging public and private financial institutions for facilitating property development sector; role of private developers and promoters in developing lands and housing properties; and finally numerous housing schemes implemented by the public and private sector, in the CMR. The analysis reveals significant variation among these three study areas in terms of neighbourhood relationships and status enhancement. Shifting into these housing complexes signifies for the residents, not just an alternative residence, but more of a status enhancement. However, the study reveals that the rising demand especially among middle and upper income groups for private housing colonies, selling their products along with multiple amenities, has resulted into a steep rise in land prices, hence making the private housing out of reach for the low income groups, who then look for government housing schemes. Further, the study has shown the banking facilities for housing loans have further enhanced the interest of people in private housing societies, providing a big boost to the housing market. The whole process has led to the emergence of urban social classes very distinct from one another and drawing an identity from the housing structures. Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences 2015 38(1): 13-29

Exploring the Effect of Staff Achievement on Job Satisfaction in Hong Kong Residential Clubhouse

Housing is one of the hottest topics in Hong Kong, a city with high population density, 7.24 million residents in mid-2014, and less land. Therefore, a high concern of housing issue and housing development direction occurs in recent years. Residential clubhouse becomes a selling gimmick of the private housing in spite of the unit itself. There are several reasons making residential clubhouse becomes a popular item in the private housing sector. The selling price of each unit can be set higher if there is a clubhouse services in the private housing sector. A sound human resource supply is expected as there are several leisure and recreation management diploma or bachelor degree programmes offering in Hong Kong, which should be formed a positive relationship under an increasing demand in the industry. However, the fact is hiring staff or retaining staff in residential clubhouse are always difficult. Job satisfaction is one of the important indicators towards staff recruitment and retention. There may be tons of reasons affecting residential clubhouse staffs’ job satisfaction and it is necessary to find them out to rectify the situation. Many researchers had been discussed factors affecting job satisfaction in other fields, but not in the residential clubhouse industry. Most of the researchers agreed achievement, job content, salary, interpersonal relationship, firm size, fringe benefit are the affecting factors. In this paper, achievement including work empowerment, work autonomy, recognition and reward, opportunity of position promotion, sense of self-professional status, and personal future development will be examined and explained in details in affecting job satisfaction and intended turnover rate in Hong Kong residential clubhouse. National Intramural Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) 2009 Campus Recreational Sports Professional Staff Survey was adopted with several amendments to ensure the questions are well fit to Hong Kong situation. Significant difference was found in result of the flexibility on work arrangement among gender, open communication among age group and opportunity of promotion among different educational level. Moderate correlation of most of the sub-factors under staff achievement was found, and the opportunity of rank promotion and fringe benefit perks had the higher correlation among the others. Hence, it is suggested improving physical reward, training and learning, and recognition practice can help enhancing job satisfaction. Research results could help the practitioners to understand the current situation as this topic has not been discussed in Hong Kong before and this research study is the pioneer in exploring the satisfaction issue by one of the big factors, staff achievement in the residential clubhouse field.

From the apartment for the worker to the apartment for Kovalsky: concepts and realities of housing in Poland in years 1918–1939 and 1944–1989

In pre-war Poland housing for families of modest incomes in towns (chiefly workers) was not the object of particular interest of the state authorities. Direct state involvement in solving the deteriorating conditions of workers’ housing, cooperative building and employer initiatives in providing workers’ housing were of negligible significance. Two factors had a decisive influence on the transformations of this housing policy after World War II : varied war consequences (demographic and wide-scale destruction of the housing stock), and the political concepts of the new Polish authorities. The new housing policy was already formulated in 1944–45. In accordance with the new law, local authorities acquired the right to allocate housing to people whose work required living in towns. The ideological pressure to ensure better housing conditions, above all for industrial workers, caused restrictions on investment opportunities in the private housing sector initiative. It began to change after 1956. The Polish housing question was to be solved by state-subsidised cooperative building . Distinguishing workers as that social group which for ideological reasons deserved privileged access to new housing was ever more frequently replaced in the official language of the authorities with “non-class” distinctions (faceless Mr and Mrs Kovalski). In the end phase of the People’s Republic, workers’ housing conditions bore no comparison to those from before the war. But while the gaps separating them from those of other, higher social strata remained, the disproportions were reduced as compared to those of the prewar period.

Tyrannies of thrift: Governmentality and older, low-income people’s energy efficiency narratives in the Illawarra, Australia

Social scientists are arguing that energy policies should pay more attention to everyday life to address energy efficiency. Scholars are now positing that energy policy needs to move beyond essentialised understandings of people positioned as the problem and seek to involve household members as part of the solution. Joining this conversation, we explore the energy narratives of low-income people aged 60 years and over, living in private sector housing. Participants shared their energy efficiency stories during focus groups conducted in the Illawarra, Australia. The paper explores how Foucault's concept of governmentality may help inform energy efficiency programs by paying close attention to the way in which individual energy choices made under certain circumstances create who an individual becomes. Learning from participants, our governmentality analysis revealed the tyrannies of thrifty domestic energy conduct. We illustrate our argument drawing on the examples of practices relating to clothing and lighting. We outline how governmentality analysis can be used by researchers, policy makers and practitioners to assist people to safely negotiate energy efficiency in their domestic lives.

Overheating investigation in UK social housing flats built to the Passivhaus standard

Global environmental and energy concerns have led to a rapid growth in mandating the construction of more energy efficient dwellings in the UK. This is particularly true for the social housing sector which is partly founded by the government and it is expected to lead the way in this respect.To address this issue energy efficiency standards such as Passivhaus are increasingly adopted by both private and social housing sectors in the UK. However, data describing actual thermal performance of dwellings built to such standards, particularly in dense social housing flats, are scarce.This study considers the overheating risk during the cooling season in social housing flats built to the Passivhaus standard in the UK. It considers 25 flats over three cooling seasons in Coventry, UK.Overheating assessment based on Passivhaus criteria, using a fixed benchmark, suggests there is a significant risk of summer overheating with more than two-thirds of flats exceeding the benchmark. While the level of overheating in different flats varies considerably, detailed analysis indicates that this is more related to occupant behaviour than construction. An alternative approach to evaluating overheating risk is the adaptive thermal comfort model, which takes into account occupant vulnerability and actual outdoor temperature. Use of the adaptive benchmark suggests this overheating risk is lower for normal occupants; but higher for vulnerable occupants. These results not only have implications for the evaluation of overheating risk but also for the way in which social housing landlords place tenants of differing vulnerabilities.

Comparison of Housing Facility Management between Mainland China and Taiwan Region

AbstractRecently, mainland China has experienced the fastest urbanization in the world; however, the development of structural regulations regarding facility management (FM) services for housing is relatively recessive. As a result, disputes and conflicts in facility management of the private housing sector have become a serious problem in urban communities, affecting social sustainable development of the building industry. Comparatively, the private housing FM system in the urban areas in the Taiwan region was developed much earlier; thus, it is more advanced and mature than that in mainland China. This paper intends to compare the FM sectors between the two regions to provide suggestions for improving the service quality of the FM system in mainland China.

HOUSING POLICIES IN SINGAPORE: EVALUATION OF RECENT PROPOSALS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REFORM

The Singapore housing market is unusual in its high homeownership rate, the dominance of HDB housing, and the extensive intervention of the government in regulating housing supply and demand in both the HDB and private housing sectors. Recent rapid population increases in a low interest rate and high global liquidity environment has resulted in accelerated house prices increases in Singapore. Earlier this year, the government launched "Our Singapore Conversation" of which discussion on housing policies constitutes one major component. This "conversation" comes in the wake of several consecutive rounds of measures to stabilize housing prices using various instruments. This paper evaluates the main policy changes proposed and makes recommendations for housing market reforms: (i) the government need to clarify goals of housing policies and make available more detailed data on the foreign component of our population for better analysis of housing markets; (ii) the housing supply regime should target an overall effective vacancy rate that encompasses both the Housing and Development Board (HDB) and private sector; (iii) policy makers need to monitor carefully excess demand indicators for housing in addition to housing affordability indicators over the entire spectrum of incomes and household types; (iv) housing REITs should be established to provide an alternative investment option as well as to develop an efficient and affordable rental sector; and (v) in addition to macroprudential measures, owner-occupancy requirements and fiscal measures such as stamp duties and property taxes could be further utilized to reduce the foreign demand for Singapore housing and real estate.

Reappraising the place for private rental housing in the UK market: Why an unbalanced economy is at risk of becoming even worse…

There appears to be a current policy fascination with what rental provision from the private housing sector could offer to the UK’s housing market and to national and local economies. A plethora of reports from Parliamentary Committees, independent think-tanks, academic and professional bodies have promoted the benefits of new private rental supplies, but there seems little critical evaluation of whether this could make economic matters worse rather than better, nor of the potential negative impact upon local places. This Viewpoint tables a number of concerns on the nature of private rental supply and its problems. It notes the manner in which the rise in private renting is impacting upon other parts of the housing market, not least its growing influence on wider assessments of housing performance by the establishment of benchmarks that are based upon ‘open market’ conditions. Particular criticism is levelled at how private rental provision is increasing ‘social’ and economic divisions between those having settled and secure accommodation and those seeing their income lost to short-hold and limited residences. A critique is levelled against the promotion of the sector as some kind of a ‘value-neutral’ investment, since current rental and investment mechanisms represent an ideological framework to consolidate ever more resources with investors and property-owners that exclude increasing numbers of households from the potential benefits of their own owner-occupation. It is also argued that the ideological values underpinning a transfer of UK home ownership to the investment sector are going unreported, and that expansion of the private rental sector represents a real threat to future ‘affordable housing provision’. The piece concludes with some views for putting other frameworks and financial systems for a fairer basis of housing delivery into place.

Delivering Low Income Housing-Role of Access to Land and Credit in Gujarat, India

Housing, particularly for the poor and marginalised, is a complex urban problem that occupies centre-stage in present-day development issues. Access to housing is influenced by two major fac-tors—land, and finance. Absence of either (or both) of these results in mushrooming of high density, environmentally insanitary living areas commonly referred to as slums. The poor and vulnerable sections increasingly struggle to secure adequate quality of shelter, because of their inability to access land at affordable rates and finance to be built. As the inflow of the poor from rural to urban is, by now, accepted as inevitable, providing housing and economic opportunities for these would have to form part and parcel of any sustainable urban development strategy. In the state of Gujarat, formal housing supply is unable to meet even a fraction of the housing demands in urban areas. Thus a mix of private and informal sector housing has emerged in the past few decades. During the 1990s, the involvement of NGOs in facilitating access of the poor to housing finance also became increasingly significant. This paper presents a critical review of housing delivery systems in urban Gujarat with an emphasis on the poor. A schematic design for delivery of land and access to housing finance for poor households has also been presented.

The environmental health practitioner: new evidence-based roles in housing, public health and well-being

Since the Victorian public health acts, the now named environmental health practitioner (EHP) (previously public health inspector or environmental health officer) has been pivotal in providing healthier housing through a range of policy initiatives and legislative requirements. The role of the practitioner has changed substantially in the past decade, particularly as the public health and well-being agendas have brought focus to the socio-economic determinants of health, including housing, with a renewed vision of tackling the most acute health inequalities through evidence-based practice and taking a population-based approach. The now established Housing Health and Safety Rating System has enabled a far greater focus on evidence than previously. However, for many households on low incomes living in owner-occupied and privately rented housing the situation is inequitable and, for many, has negative health effects. The private-sector housing renewal budget has been discontinued and the allied housing and social care resource has been cut. As a result, EHPs and colleagues need to promote the importance of their work at every opportunity as Public Health England came into being in 2013 and public health has been transferred from the National Health Service to local authorities. This presents both opportunities and challenges in demonstrating the effectiveness of housing strategies and interventions by fine-tuning arguments for securing greater resources through joint strategic needs assessments presented to health and well-being boards.

More than twenty years after the repeal of the Group Areas Act: housing, spatial planning and urban development in post-apartheid South Africa

More than twenty years after the repeal of the Group Areas Act, South Africa is facing a number of challenges with regards to housing, spatial planning and urban development. Government institutions, scholars, NGO’s and local communities have been looking for innovative ways to improve the housing conditions of all South Africans. With this special issue, we aim to demonstrate that international insights cannot only be relevant to understand and enrich South African cases, but that an in-depth analysis of the South African experiments can also be meaningful for academic analyses and political decisions in other parts of the world. In order to stimulate such a cross-fertilization, this article will briefly summarize the current situation in South Africa in the public housing sector, the private housing sector and the self-help approach. We will also introduce the eight papers of this special issue.

Liquidity and Profitability Analysis: A case study of Delta Brac Housing Finance Corporation Limited.

This paper tries to observe the liquidity position and the profitability of Delta Brac Housing Finance Corporation Ltd. during the study period. The study is based on secondary data. Secondary data were collected from the audited financial statements and liquidity statements of DBH for the year 2008-2009 to 2012-2013. During the study period, current ratio, quick ratio, super quick ratio, cash ratio and net working capital position are so poor which are not reached the conventional standard. The profitability ratios of DBH such as net interest income ratio, NOPAT ratio, net profit ratio, return on total assets ratio, return on capital employed ratio and return on equity capital ratio are highly satisfied and covered stakeholders interest during the study period. Net operating profit after tax ratio is proved that the DBH has good control over operating expenses. So the researchers comment regarding the liquidity condition of DBH is unacceptable and the profitability condition of DBH is appreciable during the study period. I. Introduction: Economic development has been phased with the emerging of business organization . Our basic needs such as food, cloth, housing facilities, medical facilities, education and employment opportunities have been increased with the development of business world. Bank and Non bank financial organization have been playing important role in the development of Bangladesh. As a Non-bank financial organization, Delta Brac Housing Finance Corporation Limited has been made contribution in the development of real-estate business. DBH can operate in all the areas that a Non-bank financial institution is allowed to do business. It has only been focusing in real- estate financing. It is considered pioneer and market leader in the private sector housing finance. DBH has provided two types of product such as- Loans and Deposits to its customers. It is accelerating saving, forming national capital, stimulating economic growth and improving living standard. It has a very good credit rating and receiving highest credit rating of ''AAA'' for 7 consecutive years. This is indicated relative safety, security and strength of a financial institution which is relevant to its depositors and customers. It is ensured continuous efforts to expand home ownership in the country. Historical Background of DBH: Delta Brac Housing Finance Corporation Limited was established in 1996 and commenced its operation in 1997. It was established as an international Joint Venture to promote real estate financing in private sector. In initial stage, there were 5 promoters out of which 3 were local and 2 were international promoters. Three local promoters were- Delta Life Insurance Company Limited, Brac & Green Delta Insurance Company Limited. International promoters were- HDFC & IFC. Initially the company was formed as a private limited company. In 2008, the company became a public limited company and enlisted in Dhaka Stock Exchange and Chittagong Stock Exchange. Now general public hold 24.52% ordinary shares of DBH. Objectives of the Study : This study will try to present the entire scenario of liquidity and profitability of Delta Brac Housing Finance Corporation Limited. The specific objectives of the study are:  To find out the liquidity position of DBH during the period under study .  To evaluate overall profitability of DBH during the period under Study.  To be given suggestions in the light of analysis and findings. II. Methodology of the Study: This study is mainly based on secondary data. Secondary data are collected from the various sources like journals, annual reports, published books, research works, bulletin board and web side of DBH Ltd. The collected data have been analyzed and interpreted by using some statistical tools like Average, Standard deviation, Co-efficient of variation and T- test method. The period of the study is covered five years from 2008- 2009 to 2012-2013.

In Search of Paradise: Middle‐Class Living in a Chinese Metropolis. Li Zhang. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 2010. 248 pp.

Student AnthropologistVolume 3, Issue 1 p. 101-104 Book ReviewOpen Access In Search of Paradise: Middle-Class Living in a Chinese Metropolis. Li Zhang. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 2010. 248 pp. Non Arkaraprasertkul, Non Arkaraprasertkul Harvard UniversitySearch for more papers by this author Non Arkaraprasertkul, Non Arkaraprasertkul Harvard UniversitySearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 March 2020 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.sda2.20120301.0009AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat References 1Arkaraprasertkul, Non 2012 Moral Global Storytelling: Reflections on Place and Space in Shanghai's Urban Neighborhoods. Storytelling, Self, Society 8(3): 167– 179. 2Herzfeld, Michael 2001 Anthropology: Theoretical Practice in Culture and Cociety. Malden: Blackwell. 3Skinner, G. William 1964 Marketing and Social Structure in Rural China: Part I. The Journal of Asian Studies 24(1): 3– 43. 4Skinner, G. William 1965a Marketing and Social Structure in Rural China: Part II. The Journal of Asian Studies 24(2): 195– 228. 5Skinner, G. William 1965b Marketing and Social Structure in Rural China: Part III. The Journal of Asian Studies 24(3): 363– 399. 6Zhang, Li 2001 Strangers in the city: Reconfigurations of Space, Power, and Social Networks within China's Floating Population. Stanford: Stanford University Press. 7 Li Zhang, and Aihwa Ong, eds. 2008 Privatizing China: Socialism from Afar. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 8Castells, Manuel 1983 The city and the grassroots : a cross-cultural theory of urban social movements. Volume [ 2]. Berkeley: University of California Press. 9Harvey, David 1973 Social justice and the city. London,: Edward Arnold. 10Harvey, David 2003 The new imperialism. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press. 11Lefebvre, Henri, and Donald Nicholson-Smith 1991 The production of space. Oxford: Blackwell. 12Peng, Ruijue 1986 Towards a new housing approach : analysis of settlement environment and housing policy in Shanghai, China, Dept. of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 13Wang, Ya Ping 1992 Private sector housing in urban China since 1949: The case of Xian. Housing Studies 7(2): 119– 137. 14Wang, Ya Ping, and Alan Murie 1999 Commercial Housing Development in Urban China. Urban Studies 36(9): 1475– 1494. 15Wu, Fulong 2001 China's recent urban development in the process of land and housing marketisation and economic globalisation. Habitat International 25(3): 273– 289. Volume3, Issue12012Pages 101-104 ReferencesRelatedInformation

Private Sector housing conditions: influencing health and wellbeing across the generations

The private housing sector presents some of the worst housing conditions and most vulnerable occupants. Dr Jill Stewart and Anneyce Knight from the University of Greenwich look at interventions to assist those seeking evidence to contribute to health promotion activities The private housing sector (owner occupied and privately rented) comprises the majority of UK tenure and presents some of the worst housing conditions and most vulnerable occupants. Appropriate interventions can be highly effective in maintaining the physical, mental/emotional health and wellbeing of occupants and it is increasingly important to use evidence based practice in enhancing housing conditions through local plans and commissioning priorities.1,2 Poor housing in England costs over £600 million a year and the total cost to society may exceed £1.5 billion per year, providing compelling evidence for intervention.3 Good strategic approaches can help promote financial, social and environmental benefits of private sector housing renewal with a positive impact on health and wellbeing. 4 For example, improving housing can improve public health, children's education, older people's sense of security and general wellbeing as well as community sustainability. As funding is cut, it is increasingly important for local authorities and their partners to demonstrate cost effectiveness, potential for health and wellbeing improvement and likely health gain of interventions so that both social and private sector housing receive their fair share of resources. Prioritising children's housing conditions is important in order to address health inequality and bring about physical and mental health/wellbeing benefits.1,5 Children born into decent housing and environments are more likely to enjoy and maintain positive mental health and resilience to illness, including opportunities for quality social interaction. However, many families experience the constant threat of eviction; exposure to other residents with mental health, drug and alcohol problems; damp housing giving rise to asthma and related respiratory disease; lack of freedom to play in safety; and the risk of missing out on regular health care or education for frequent movers.6 Overcrowding is of particular importance in leading to problems in physical and social development as well as reduced educational attainment.7 At the opposite end of the spectrum, as people are living longer their housing needs and their ability to address these needs changes.8 One irony in the owner occupied sector is that owners may have a major capital resource, but have little to spend day to day. They may be anxious and lack understanding of equity release schemes or home loans to fund housing maintenance, repair, adaptations or improvements as well as changing social care needs. Whilst arguably those in the social housing sector have their housing and social needs met to some extent, many private sector residents risk missing out on support regimes due to poverty, social isolation and other difficulties as they 'age in place'. Older people are most likely to occupy poor housing and require home care although many wish to remain independently in their own homes for as long as possible. As the numbers reaching older age increases, so does the number of those living with progressive conditions such as dementia which in turn leads to associated higher risks of home accidents, as well as declining living environment through reduced maintenance. As housing conditions deteriorate around an ageing occupier(s), it is can also be challenging to 'design in' features that could help improve quality of life and wellbeing for occupiers and their carers, such as space for visitors, gas caps, lower windows for those who are less mobile or bed-ridden, colour coding to help avoid confusion and there is a need for new and emerging models of housing and health care services for older people.9 Fuel poverty in private sector housing has proven particularly challenging to address, due in part to this housing sector generally being older and more disparate, and not enjoying the benefits of large scale capital investment as social housing. …

Construction Shortfall and Government Intervention in the UK Private Sector Housing Market

The volume of UK house building has consistently been too low to meet newly arising need for housing and since the recession this has been compounded by a drop off in housing construction. Since their peak in 2007, private sector completions have declined from 197,500 to only 109,500 units per year. The drop in housing starts has been associated with an even greater drop in the number of housing transactions, suggesting that the main drivers have been the drop-off in final demand for housing and the subsequent response of house builders rather than a specific issue affecting the new build sector in isolation. While it is plausible that a theoretical housing supply constrain exists at or above the level of house building experienced before the recession, the drop off in house building suggests that there is currently considerable capacity within the sector to deliver greater number of homes. Relying on the private sector to deliver the required levels of new housing is fraught with problems, particularly given the current economic environment. The removal of planning constraints is unlikely to have any impact on supply as current levels of house building are significantly below the levels at which it is reasonable to expect supply constraints to have an effect. In contrast, raising demand through interventions in the mortgage market or through home purchase assistance schemes may well risk encouraging increasing prices and declining affordability; so making homeowners more vulnerable to further economic shocks. This is particularly a risk if private developers do not respond sufficiently to price or demand signals.What is required is direct and explicit intervention to ensure that construction reaches the required levels rather than relying entirely on private sector developers to make the right decision.Furthermore, while the mortgage market needs to be addressed, possibly through intervention in the wholesale funding market, this should not be at the cost of loosening of lending standards.

Voucher Users and Revitalized Public-Housing Residents 6 Years After Displacement

Objective: A total of 6 years after displacement by a Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere (HOPE VI) project, this research examines residents who returned to the redeveloped community and residents who decided to keep their vouchers and were living in private sector housing. Respondents were compared on the following variables: application process and decision to move back, satisfaction with housing, material hardships, and perception of economic well-being. Method: The study employed a static group comparison research design. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 56 respondents through five focus groups. Results: Residents who moved back to the revitalized public housing were highly satisfied with their housing, had significantly fewer material hardships, and perceived their economic well-being more positively compared to residents remaining in the voucher program. Conclusions: Our results both support and expand upon previous empirical findings on the complex comparisons between voucher users and revitalized public-housing residents.

Universalistic, Particularistic and Middle Way Approaches to Comparing the Private Rental Sector

The paper will argue that the meaning and definition of private renting varies from country to country, and this presents a series of challenges for comparative research. It will demonstrate a lack of equivalence between ‘private rented housing sectors’ in western Europe and show that this arises from variations in definitions, property rights, the role of the tenure in relation to other tenures, and differences in the characteristics of both landlords and tenants. It will show that an argument can be made that the private rental sector is a different phenomenon in different countries but that comparisons are still valuable. It will argue that between the extremes of universalism, that emphasise similarities, and particularism that emphasises differences, middle way approaches that consider contexts, apply commensurability and apply theory that is fit for purpose all have strong methodological advantages. The argument will be expanded by reference to the authors’ work on applying the concept of a competitive gap between market and social renting in six European countries.

Housing density as a predictor of neighbourhood satisfaction among families with young children in urban England

AbstractPatterns of residential mobility suggest that urban areas in the UK are considered unpopular places to live, in particular by families with young children. The unpopularity of urban areas has been attributed to characteristics of the built environment as well as to levels of deprivation. This paper examines the relationship between levels of neighbourhood satisfaction and the density of housing in the local area using a sample of mothers with young children living in urban areas in England. Separate analyses were conducted for mothers resident in private sector housing and in social housing. The main finding is that for both groups there is a negative relationship between neighbourhood satisfaction and housing density. The relationship between housing density and the reported level of neighbourhood satisfaction was largely independent of individual and household characteristics. The adjustment for different aspects of neighbourhood deprivation significantly attenuated the gradient in neighbourhood satisfaction. For respondents in social housing, the economic dimension of neighbourhood deprivation accounted for the association between housing density and neighbourhood satisfaction. However, for respondents in private sector housing, housing density remained a significant predictor of neighbourhood satisfaction. These results show that families with young children would prefer to live in neighbourhoods with lower housing densities. However, to the extent that the factors producing neighbourhood deprivation are modifiable it may be possible to increase the number of households in urban areas without making them less attractive places for families to live. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Is there a rôle for architects in mainstream private sector house building?

The paper draws on a recent research project ‘Design at the Heart of Housebuilding’, commissioned by the Scottish Government and undertaken in 2006–7; subsequently published in early 2008. This research focused on the conceptions and practice of design within private sector house developers in Scotland, which is used here as a basis for speculatively exploring opposing values between private sector housing developers and architects in housing design. Drawing initially on reviews of this relationship in the initial mass private sector housing provision in the inter-war period in the UK the paper then compares this with the more recent position as evidenced in the research, two generations later. It identifies and analyses the basis for a perpetuated mutual wariness as a way to understand the potential for change in current trends, and ends by highlighting some examples of alternative collaborations, where the skills and values of architects are more fully articulated with those of developers and manufacturers in innovative housing provision, including forms of mass customisation.