Residential Satisfaction - Concept, Theories and Empirical Studies

Abstract

Residential satisfaction, defined as the feeling of contentment when one has or achieves what one needs or desires in a house, is an important indicator and planners, architects, developers and policy makers use it in a number of ways. There are three theories – housing needs theory, housing deficit theory and psychological construct theory, and most empirical studies have used these theories or a combination of these theories in their research design. A number of variables representing housing and neighbourhood characteristics, individuals‘ socio-demographic attributes as well as their perceptions of housing and neighbourhood conditions have been analysed in most empirical studies what stand to indicate that further studies are required until a general theory of residential satisfaction/ dissatisfaction emerges. Also, a host of variables belonging to housing and its environment including the sociodemographic attributes of residents exert significant influences on the level of residential satisfaction/dissatisfaction which is however, culture and value specific indicating that further studies on residential satisfaction/dissatisfaction can be undertaken on case specific context to gude public policies on housing.

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design for Low-Income Residents (B40) in Sabah, Malaysia

“…On the other hand, a study of the community of Nanhuan and Daoqian emphasised that the satisfaction of residents towards the facilities such as property management, unrestricted space mobility, and demand for various facilities and recreation spaces were the most prominent elements to improve residents' satisfaction for seeking their QoL (Chen et al, 2020). This is supported by another study in which it was stated that the level of crime, lack of amenities, or industrial development or location of workplace are probably contributors to neighbourhood dissatisfaction that weakens QoL (Mohit & Raja, 2014). Therefore, all the indicators being discussed demonstrate the importance of the focus on strengthening the "social" environmentnot merely the material environment-in order to enhance the QoL among the people, especially in housing areas.…”

Residential satisfaction with affordable housing in northern Iran

“…Additionally, some studies (e.g. Mohit and Raja, 2014;Abidin et al, 2019;Mridha, 2020;Zeng et al, 2021) pointed that there were a number of key characteristics that influence RS. These characteristics are divided into four groups: 1) social demographic characteristic; 2) housing characteristics comprised of housing quality and housing facilities provided by developers; 3) neighborhood characteristics; and 4) behavioral characteristics of residents related to housing adaptation.…”

“…Additionally, some studies (e.g. Mohit and Raja, 2014; Abidin et al. , 2019; Mridha, 2020; Zeng et al.…”

Spatio-temporal modelling of housing satisfaction indicators based on statistical data – evidence from Poland

“…Measuring the extent to which housing needs are met is quite complicated because it involves a subjective assessment of a particular place, time, and evaluation purpose (Nurzafira et al, 2019). Satisfaction of these needs can be described as housing satisfaction, defined as a feeling of satisfaction with one's housing conditions (Mohit et al, 2014). Housing satisfaction can also be defined as an indicator of the assessment of residential property owners' overall quality of life and can mean fulfilling an individual's housing expectations (Tan, 2016).…”

“…However, a clear distinction must be made between housing needs and housing preferences (King, 2006). Other authors also point out this distinction (Kim & Kim, 2017;Mohit et al, 2014;Roslan et al, 2020;Vera-Toscano & Ateca-Amestoy, 2008), indicating factors influencing needs, preferences and housing satisfaction. Housing needs are also often identified with potential demand; hence econometric demand models are used for research (Bajari et al, 2010;Bayer et al, 2016;Xiong et al, 2020).…”