Private Sector Housing Research Articles

Viduriniosios kartos (gimusiųjų 1970-1984 m.) apsirūpinimo būstu galimybės Lietuvoje

Straipsnyje analizuojamos individualaus apsirūpinimo būstu galimybės Lietuvoje, apibrėžtos po nepriklausomybės atkūrimo šalyje susiformavusiu dualistinės būsto politikos modeliu, pasižyminčiu ribota valstybės atsakomybe už gyventojų būsto poreikius ir rinkos veikėjų kontroliuojamu privačiu būsto fondu. Daugeliui modernių būsto politikos sistemų pastaraisiais dešimtmečiais išgyvenant intensyvius kaitos procesus dėl finansinių krizių padarinių ir besitraukiančios gerovės valstybės keliamų iššūkių, tiek dualistinėse, tiek ir unitarinėse būsto sistemose stebimas augantis privataus būsto sektorius, mažėjanti valstybės parama būstui. Struktūriniai darbo rinkos kaitos, taip pat demografinės struktūros pokyčiai lemia sudėtingėjantį jaunesniųjų kartų atstovų apsirūpinimą būstu. Tyrėjai sutinka, kad vyresniosios generacijos būsto sektoriuje buvo labiau privilegijuotos, savo laiku turėdamos geresnes apsirūpinimo būstu galimybes. Straipsnyje siekiama atskleisti viduriniosios kartos (gimusiųjų 1970-1984 m.) atstovų galimybių kontekstą apsirūpinant būstu Lietuvoje. Šią kartą verta išskirti, kaip atskirą kohortą ir dėl menko tyrėjų dėmesio, ir dėl aktyviuoju šeiminio gyvenimo periodu jos patirtos sparčios visuomenės kaitos bei struktūrinių ekonominių ir politinių, tame tarpe ir būsto politikos pokyčių sąlygų, kurios skiria ją nuo vyresniųjų, gyvenusių sovietinės būsto aprūpinimo sistemos aplinkoje ir jauniausiųjų kartų – socializuotų liberalios ekonomikos ir dominuojančios privačios būsto nuosavybės sąlygomis.

Collaborative Governance for Affordable Housing in Toronto and Melbourne

Policy formation and implementation have largely shifted from a top-down government-led process, to a collaborative governance approach characterised by complex and opaque partnerships, weakly steered by the state. We use 36 interviews, undertaken in Toronto and Melbourne between 2015 and 2018, to assess procedural accountability in these two cities: the extent to which policy outputs developed through a partnership approach are fair, transparent, rational, and intentional. We find that both cities fail the basics of procedural accountability, and that there is little shared understanding amongst key partners – local and provincial/state policymakers, non-profit and private sector housing providers, and philanthropic and private sector finance providers – about the definition and missing quantum of affordable housing, let alone a sense of how to move forward.

Housing Tenure Choice and Housing Affordability in Nigeria: A Comparative Analysis of Owners and Renters of Organized Private Sector Housing

Housing tenure choice is one key decision that a household must make. This decision has been established to have direct implications for household housing affordability. This research assessed and compared the housing affordability of owners and renters of organized Private Sector Housing delivery in Nigeria. Data were collected from eleven (11) states and the Federal Capital Territory across the six (6) geo-political zones of Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted with multi-stage sampling technique employed to select estates residents for interview. Structured questionnaire were administered on 10% (1,950) heads of households randomly selected from all the occupied houses. The study revealed that 48% of the residents were owners and 52% renters. It was discovered that more owners than renters are under severe housing affordability stress/burden. While 29% of owners enjoy “normal housing affordability” (housing expenditure of 1% - 30%), 41% of renters enjoyed such. Also, while 36% of owners enjoyed “tolerable housing affordability” (30.1% - 50% housing expenditure), 41% of the renters fall within that range. Furthermore, while 35% of owners are theoretically under severe housing affordability stress/burden (with >50% housing expenditure), only 18% of the renters are. The study confirmed that renters enjoyed better housing affordability than the owners. Major policy implications include the need for housing policy and delivery in Nigeria to recognize and facilitate rental housing while steps should be taken to relieve the burden of home ownership by working on mortgage penetration, cost of building materials and other incidental expenses of ownership so as to enhance housing affordability of Nigerians.

Evaluation of construction, marketing and management in housing delivery by a private developer: evidence from Papua New Guinea

Providing quality, affordable and adequate housing in urban areas has been a long-standing challenge for the governments of most developing countries. This paper reports on a study of the activities of a private developer in the construction, management and marketing of houses in the vicinity of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. It also describes the challenges faced by the developer, the coping strategy employed and a potential strategy that can be used to promote private sector participation in housing delivery. The data were obtained from face-to-face in-depth interviews that involved the directors of Edai Town Development Limited (ETDL) and were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results revealed that ETDL has an effective development framework and that it had built 144 houses. The sales price of the houses ranges from 294,800 PNG Kina (89,333 US$) to 803,000 PNG Kina (243,333 US$). However, low-income households might find it difficult to afford the houses. The results also revealed that ETDL had established different types of basic infrastructures and had introduced an infrastructure maintenance strategy. Some of the challenges faced by ETDL include the high cost of building materials, shortages of land with proper titles and skilled labour and lack of trunk infrastructure. The coping strategy used by ETDL included providing and managing the infrastructure in its housing estate, training workers on the job and the constructing house types that are in high demand. To promote private sector participation in the delivery of housing, the government should provide trunk infrastructures where they are lacking. The government should encourage small and medium enterprises to produce materials for constructing houses by providing them with opportunities to access loan facilities and training. More vocational schools should be established for training people in professions such as bricklaying and carpentry. The findings can assist urban development managers and policy-makers in developing a strategy for increasing the supply of private sector housing.

Housing Affordability and the Organized Private Sector Housing in Nigeria

Growing housing deficit in Nigeria, particularly in urban areas, has resulted to various housing problems such as overcrowding, homelessness, slum and squatter developments. Despite the myriad of housing policies and programmes to solve the housing deficit, the desire goals have not been achieved, hence the adoption of organized Private Sector housing delivery in 2002. This research is an assessment of the Affordability of Organized Private Sector Housing Delivery in Nigeria. We adopted cross-sectional survey and multi-stage sampling technique. Two states with the prevalence of organized private sector housing developers (OPSHD) in each of the six (6) geo-political zones of Nigeria were selected. Ten Percent (1950) households were randomly selected from the occupied houses (19,500) in all the estates. The structured questionnaires administered on 1950 household heads focused on demographic characteristics (age, sex, and household size) and housing affordability variables (income, housing expenditure and access to mortgage). Questionnaire administered on OPSHD focused on types of houses produced, selling prices and terms. Affordability rating scale (normal ≤ 30%; tolerable 30.1% - 50% and stressed > 50%) was used to measure housing affordability. The study revealed that 42.4%; 36.9% and 20.6% of households have normal, tolerable and stressed housing affordability respectively. The implication of these findings is that organized private sector housing is not affordable to most Nigerians, particularly the low and medium income households; and therefore need to be assisted. A more efficient mortgage with better penetration among the low and medium income household is desirable. Also, “rent-and-own” option should be considered to enhance affordability of low and medium income households.

Post-Independence Institutional Efforts in Planned Housing Development in Amritsar (Punjab, India)

After food and clothing, housing is the third basic requirement of mankind. The first effort towards institutional housing in India was made through British with establishment of Municipalities and Improvement Trusts. After independence in the year 1947, housing became the responsibility of the government and received third major allocation in the First Five Year Plan by the Central Government of India. The National Housing and Habitat Policy, 1998 emphasized on changing role of government from direct provider to enabler and the private sector is formally invited to participate in housing development. Amritsar is second metropolitan city of Punjab having population of 11.33 lakhs as per 2011 census. The city is facing fast urbanization growth that lead to increased housing demand. The city has different institutions that are working for the provision of housing including Municipal Corporation, Housing Board, Improvement Trust, Departmental Housing and Formal Private Sector Housing but still there exists the housing shortage of 21,504 with inclusion of non-durable structures. The paper aims at working out the contribution made by different institutions towards planned housing development in Amritsar out of total residential development. This paper examines the relationship between total residential development and institutional residential development in Amritsar.

Group self-build housing: A bottom-up approach to environmentally and socially sustainable housing

Abstract In England, there is a longstanding and increasing undersupply of both affordable and open-market housing. Around three quarters of all new homes in the UK are currently built speculatively by the developer-led private housing sector. However, demand for self-build housing is growing. Concurrently, there is also a need to address the sustainability of homes, which represent 29% of final energy consumption in the UK. There is a clear imperative to develop business models within the construction sector in which both social and environmental sustainability are inherent. The aim of this paper is to explore professional and expert opinions on the suitability of group self-build housing as a development model for zero carbon homes. A Policy Delphi study was conducted both at a national level in England and at a regional level in South West England. In this iterative, non-contact research method, online questionnaires were used to gather data from the same panellists over three rounds. Panellists were drawn from seven groups: public sector, specialist groups/experts, housing associations, housing developers, designers, contractors, and financial institutions. The findings highlight that the panellists believe that group self-build is well suited as a development model for the delivery of zero carbon homes and sustainable communities. The advantages identified include: energy efficiency, affordability, quality, innovation, and sustainable communities.

Negotiation, mediation and subjectivities: How migrant renters experience informal rentals in Gurgaon’s urban villages

The population of Gurgaon, a city of an estimated 2.5 million people located south of India’s capital Delhi and within the National Capital Region, grew by 73.9 percent in 2001-2011. While Gurgaon’s private sector housing market attracted educated migrants, residents of urban villages built rental housing for low-income migrant workers. Based on qualitative fieldwork conducted in Nathupur village in 2013 and Sikanderpur village in 2017, this paper focuses on the experience of low-income migrant renters in the informal rental markets that are controlled and managed by village landlords. It focuses on living conditions, sense of security and the nature of tenant-landlord relationships. Despite the dominance of landlords, I posit that migrants mediate their housing choices as per their migration strategy and leverage oral contracts to move flexibly through rental housing in different locations at different times. Further, by characterising landlords as benevolent, renters keep their opportunities for employment and reward open while potentially exerting reputational pressures on landlords through criticism of their exploitative practices. Lastly, migrant renters challenge social norms set by landlords by everyday acts of resistance. These strategies of mediation, negotiation and subjectivities enable rural migrants to establish a relationship, however tenuous, with the city and maximise their returns from it.

Public housing provision and housing vacancies in Japan

Using detailed housing data for Japanese cities, we investigate the relationship between the intensity of public housing provision and the housing vacancy rate. Our empirical evidence suggests that they are positively correlated. This pattern is magnified across Japan's major cities, for which public housing construction is given higher priority. A preliminary mechanism analysis implies that this is partly caused by the rigidity of Japan's housing market, which makes the private-sector housing supply less responsive to demand changes.

Disparity in Performance of the Czech Construction Sector: Evidence from the Markov-Switching Model

Activities in the construction sector are assumed to be influenced by inflow of mortgage funding in the private housing sector and public finances targeted at large infrastructure projects, apart from climate variables. In this study, we modeled seasonal time series representing monthly output in the Czech construction sector in CZK mil. during 2000:1 through 2016 : 12 (T = 204) adjusted for calendar variations and seasonal movements via TRAMO‑SEATS and then transformed to natural logarithms of gross returns. A Markov‑Switching model with two states, no intercept, average monthly temperature, average monthly precipitation and parameters of first‑order autoregression process was specified and estimated by the Expectation‑Maximization. In State 1 of regular performance, the log‑differenced returns were significantly and positively influenced by precipitation levels, but not by ambient outdoor temperature. In State 2 of non‑standard operation of the construction sector, the transformed series was unaffected by precipitation levels, but instead by ambient outdoor temperatures. First‑order autocorrelation dependency in both regimes was established. Changes in legal and macroeconomic environment pertinent to tax law amendments affecting VAT or corporate tax, country’s accession to EU or large construction project deadlines were shown to induce nonstandard regime in the construction sector (State 2). The model classified 91 % observations in the first state, while only 9 % data belonged to the State 2. Transition probability matrix indicates that change from model State 1 to State 2 is difficult to attain. At the same time, once State 2 was established, it tends to persist or change to State 1 with near equal probability. Ability of the Markov‑Switching model to identify both states is reasonably good.

Risks Induced by Lithuanian Housing Policy for the Youth Living in the Private Rental Sector

Rapid expansion of welfare state model and persistent processes of housing sector commodification are corroding the stable social security net and transforming the structure of housing sector at the same time. The growing private rent sector becomes a desirable option for those households which struggle to acquire housing in private housing sector. Lithuanian private rent sector is a peculiar case because the rent segment is poorly regulated and the practice of informal rent is widely spread. Even the general official framework of Lithuanian housing policy considers private rent sector an economic activity, but not the residential one – the rent is legally treated as just a contract between the renter and the tenant. The study aims at showcasing the situation of Lithuanian youth (18–35 yr.) who rent housing units privately, and their attitudes towards private rent sector. The analysis presents the differences in socio-demographic features and value orientations among young tenants and home-owners. The article describes several profiles of young tenants: they usually live in more compact housing units and are more likely to be single or cohabitate with a partner and without any children. Important feature of Lithuanian private rent sector is a quite short residential period, and the fact that the majority of young tenants have not declared or registered rented housing unit as their primary place of residency. Young tenants are more anxious about their liability to the renter, but not about their rights as the tenants. More than one quarter of young tenants participate in informal housing rent sector, only about half of young tenants have legal contracts with renters. All these features of the private sector allow concluding about the rent sector’s ambivalence or existence of various levels of residential security for young tenants.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ppaa.17.3.21958

Increasing evenness in the neighbourhood distribution of income poverty in England 2005–2014: Age differences and the influence of private rented housing

A recent change in the geography of poverty in Britain has been reported: it appears to be becoming more evenly distributed in major cities, such that low-income individuals are less likely to be living in the highest poverty areas. Studying all local authority areas in England between 2005 and 2014, this paper finds that this phenomenon is strongly differentiated by age group and local authority type. Poverty amongst children and working age people is becoming more evenly distributed in almost all local authority types, with the largest changes occurring in the most urban areas. The change is strongly associated with the increasing proportion of low-income households living in private sector housing. Conversely, there is evidence of an increasing residential concentration of poverty at older ages. The paper also proposes a method for decomposing a change in rates between changes in the numerator and changes in the denominator. It concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for area effects, area-based initiatives and gentrification by displacement.

Policies to enhance the drivers of green housing development in China

China's housing sector has a major impact on global energy consumption due to the rapid urbanization. Although the Chinese government launched a wide variety of policies to encourage green building practices, only 1592 housing projects had been green-certified by the end of 2015, representing a small percentage in China's booming housing market and with very uneven distribution across cities. Based on a panel dataset of all the cities at the prefecture level or above in China for the period from 2008 to 2015, this paper employs Tobit model and Cox proportional hazard model to investigate the drivers of green housing development. Besides the factors associated with economic returns to green investment, the empirical results suggest that some policy instruments have effectively stimulated green practices in the private housing sector, such as land-related policies, priority in enterprise qualification inspection and upgrade, and demand-side subsidies. This paper also highlights the spillover effects of the government's green practices in public housing, implying that governments can also influence the building sector as leading actors. These findings could help governments create more effective and efficient policies to boost green housing development.

Effects of Rent-Controlled Public Housing on the Supply of Private RentedHousing and Household Mobility in Malawi: A Case Study of Malawi Housing Corporation

Despite global policy shift towards liberalization of the housing market, different forms of rent control have still remained in a number of countries. Most of these controls are currently uphold by the view that they are different from the old forms that involved complete freezing of the nominal rents. Generally, this view has been sustained by lack of in-depth studies on the remaining forms of rent control. This paper fills this gap by examining the effects of rent-controlled public housing sector on the supply of private rent housing and household mobility in Malawi. The findings from Malawi demonstrate that the effects of rent control are varied and depend on the nature of residential market as well as the political environment under which the rent controls are implemented. Under dictatorial regime, rent controlsin Malawi produced negative effects on both the supply of private rent housing and household mobility. This is consistent with existing studies from many other countries. However, after adoption of liberal democracy and economic policies, rent controlhas produces varied outcomes. While its effect on constraining household mobility remains undisputable, rent control in the public housing sector has insignificant effect on the supply of private rented housing. These differences may be explained by the fact that during dictatorial regime private housing sector in the country was also de facto under rent control.

Private Estate Housing Productivity in Greater Port Harcourt, Nigeria

The housing deficit in Nigeria is reportedly of the order of 17 million units. The private sector remains the major supplier as in some other developing countries. However, productivity in Nigeria is hampered by many factors, including high cost of building materials, difficulty in obtaining title to land, a weak mortgage financing sector, and delay in obtaining building permit. In the study area, Greater Port Harcourt City, there is paucity of information on various aspects of housing, including supply, demand, nature of housing provided, satisfaction levels and relationship between housing and stage in the family life cycle. Therefore, the objectives of the research were to: (1) Ascertain the state of private residential housing estate development in GPHC; (2) ascertain the sources of private residential housing and the relative importance of private vis-a-vis public residential housing delivery; (3) critically examine the number, type and quality of housing provided in private residential estates and their functionality from the point of view of beneficiaries; and (4) ascertain bottlenecks to private residential estate housing delivery. This study was undertaken as a cross-sectional survey of (1) a probability sample of all persons residing in privately built estates and (2) all individuals or corporate firms who have supplied at least 4 building units and above constructed between 1978 and 2014 in Greater Port Harcourt City (GPHC). The research design used was the “passive-observational” method. The number of questionnaires administered to estate residents was 400 while the number administered to estate developers was 76. The study relied on two sources of information – primary and secondary. Primary sources comprised (a) a largely pre-coded questionnaire, administered face-to-face by trained interviewers, (b) Individual Depth Interviews (IDIs) of key informants, (c) direct observation, (c) measurement, and (d) photography. Secondary sources included: (a) unpublished and published material in past theses, books, journals, maps, etc; and (b) the Internet. Data analysis utilised mainly univariate and multivariate statistical analytical techniques. Analysis was carried out with the aid of the microcomputer – adapted Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 16. The results showed that 1,761 housing units — mostly in Obio/Akpor LGA (80%) — were built by the private sector as opposed to 3,453 units by government. Housing types were single-family bungalow (28.3%), multi-family block of flats (26.8%), single-family storey building (18.8%), “wagon” rooming house (4.3%) and “courtyard” rooming house (1.8%). Four predictor variables — Access to Land, Mortgage Financing, Building Permit, and Title to Land could explain 85% of the variation in the dependent variable, Private Housing Productivity, with Title to Land being the most important. The study concluded, among others, that (a) the pace of private sector housing development in Greater Port Harcourt City was far short of what is needed to satisfy demand, given a population of the order of 2,000,000 growing at 5.8% per annum. Recommendations of the study include (a) Stamp Duty Subsidy such as “instruments, payable on documents such as Lease / Tenancy Agreements, Sale Purchase, Agreements, Transfer and Mortgages. (b)Government should formulate policies and implement techniques that promote liveability in Greater Port Harcourt City. (c) Making land available for estate developers or regulating the price of land can be implemented.

Emerging social-spatial polarisation within the housing market in Colombo , Sri Lanka

This paper discusses the results of a study undertaken to understand the emerging relationship between state, market and social classes in the Colombo Metropolitan Region (CMR) in Sri Lanka. Castells1 saw the city as crucial to modern capitalism by creating new markets and different social classes in society. Housing is a central element of urban socio-spatial structures. It is a major component of people’s lives in cities. Three housing units were studied in detail: Sahaspura, a public sector condominium inhabited by lower class; Mattegoda, a public sector housing complex inhabited by lower-middle class; and Millennium City, a private sector housing complex inhabited by middle and upper-middle class. The sample survey (325 units) was supplemented by qualitative data collected from residents by using informal interviews and non-participant observation. The study reveals that the rising demand especially among the middle and upper classes for private housing localities has resulted in a steep rise in land prices, hence making private housing unaffordable to the lower classes, who as a result have sought the help of government housing schemes to purchase or obtain housing in urban areas. This study also illustrates that housing loans have further encouraged interest in private housing, providing a big boost to the existing housing market. The urban regeneration and renewal programme in central districts of Colombo has led to a mass eviction of the poor. The land that has become available is being used for commercial and luxury housing development. The process has led to the emergence of urban classes based on the housing structures they reside in.

Off the Radar? Addressing housing disrepair to improve health in later life

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight the pivotal role of initiatives that address housing disrepair, home improvements and adaptations as a way of improving health, independence and quality of life in older age. Design/methodology/approach The author uses data from housing and health, combined with the author’s experience of policy formulation as well as working with older people and developing practical services, particularly those which address private sector housing stock condition. Findings As well as its massive economic impact, housing greatly affects people’s health and wellbeing, not only in later life but across the life course. In England, there is a long history of systematic, government backed action to improve and maintain housing stock condition. There are significant economic and social gains from a coherent national response to addressing private sector housing disrepair, including creation of employment opportunities, economic stimulus through enabling best use of assets, as well as health and social care gains. In addition to increasing housing supply through building much needed new homes, existing housing stock disrepair needs once again to be “on the radar” of policy makers operating across health, social care and housing. Concerted action to make homes safe, healthy places to live in later life, whatever an older person’s tenure, requires vision and innovation and is an essential element in the integration of health, social care – and housing. With significant funding constraints in local authorities, especially for adult social care, and in the context of growing pressures on the NHS, sustaining good health in later life is more important than ever. There is a compelling case for cross-sector action to reduce health hazards in ordinary, private housing, given that 79 per cent of older people who live in non-decent homes are owner occupiers. This is an opportune moment for Health and Wellbeing Boards to take a lead on this issue at a local level, as well as time to put housing stock condition back “On the Radar” of national government policy. Social implications There is a need to embed practical housing services in the emerging integrated health and care systems in order to extend healthy later life for the majority of older people who live in mainstream housing. Originality/value The author draws on over 30 years’ experience of innovation, development and evaluation of older people’s housing, services and policy development to provide a vision for greater integration across health, care and housing.

Housing conditions of urban households with Aboriginal children in NSW Australia: tenure type matters

BackgroundHousing is a key determinant of the poor health of Aboriginal Australians. Most Aboriginal people live in cities and large towns, yet research into housing conditions has largely focused on those living in remote areas. This paper measures the prevalence of housing problems amongst participants in a study of urban Aboriginal families in New South Wales, Australia, and examines the relationship between tenure type and exposure to housing problems.MethodsCross-sectional survey data was provided by 600 caregivers of 1406 Aboriginal children aged 0–17 years participating in Phase One of the Study of Environment on Aboriginal Resilience and Child Health (SEARCH). Regression modelling of the associations between tenure type (own/mortgage, private rental or social housing) and housing problems was conducted, adjusting for sociodemographic factors.ResultsThe majority (60%) of SEARCH households lived in social housing, 21% rented privately and 19% either owned their home outright or were paying a mortgage (“owned”). Housing problems were common, particularly structural problems, damp and mildew, vermin, crowding and unaffordability. Physical dwelling problems were most prevalent for those living in social housing, who were more likely to report three or more physical dwelling problems than those in owned (PR 3.19, 95%CI 1.97, 5.73) or privately rented homes (PR 1.49, 1.11, 2.08). However, those in social housing were the least likely to report affordability problems. Those in private rental moved home most frequently; children in private rental were more than three times as likely to have lived in four or more homes since birth than those in owned homes (PR 3.19, 95%CI 1.97, 5.73). Those in social housing were almost half as likely as those in private rental to have lived in four or more homes since birth (PR 0.56, 95%CI 0.14, 0.77). Crowding did not vary significantly by tenure type.ConclusionsThe high prevalence of housing problems amongst study participants suggests that urban Aboriginal housing requires further attention as part of efforts to reduce the social and health disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal Australians. Particular attention should be directed to the needs of those renting in the private and social housing sectors, who are experiencing the poorest dwelling conditions.

MORTGAGE FINANCING AND HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

This study examined mortgage financing and housing development in Nigeria. The main focus of this research was to ascertain the impact of mortgage loan in housing development in Nigeria. To achieve this objective, data were extracted from CBN statistical bulletin and National Bureau of Statistics from 1990 to 2014. Three hypotheses were formulated and tested using econometric models such as Augmented Dickey-Fuller unit root test, the co-integration tests revealed the existence of a long-run relationship among the variables. The Error Correction Model established causal links and dynamic interactions between variables by granger causality test. The result of the findings showed a significant relationship between mortgage financing and housing development in Nigeria. Variables such as mortgage loan and interest rate had positive and significant impact on housing development while cost of building had a negative effect on housing development in Nigeria. Further findings revealed that mortgage bank deposit had positive effect on mortgage investment while inflation had a negative effect on mortgage investment. The study recommended that mortgage institution in Nigeria should develop strategies to mobilize more deposits and explore new sources of fund such as funds from the capital market via housing bonds, savings and loans from co-operative societies. Government should create an enabling environment for private housing sector in housing development in Nigeria by providing infrastructure and enhancing soundness and competitiveness of mortgage institutions in Nigeria.

Hedonic indexes for public and private housing in Costa Rica

PurposeThis study aims to show how hedonic methods can be used to compare the performance of the public and private sector housing markets in Costa Rica.Design/methodology/approachHedonic price indexes are computed using the adjacent-period method. Average housing quality is measured by comparing hedonic and median price indexes. The relative performance of the public and private sector residential construction is compared by estimating separate hedonic models for each sector. A private sector price is then imputed for each house built in the public sector, and a public sector price is imputed for each house built in the private sector.FindingsThe real quality-adjusted price of private housing rose by 12 per cent between 2000 and 2013, whereas the price of private housing rose by 9 per cent. The average quality of private housing rose by 45 per cent, whereas that of public housing fell by 18 per cent. Nevertheless, the hedonic imputation analysis reveals that public housing could not be produced more cheaply in the private sector.Social implicationsThe quality of public housing has declined over time. The hedonic analysis shows that the decline is not because of a lack of competition between construction firms in the public sector. An alternative demand side explanation is provided.Originality/valueThis study applies hedonic methods in novel ways to compare the relative performance of the public and private housing sectors in Costa Rica. The results shed new light on the effectiveness of public sector housing programs.