Modelling in new housing choice-An application

This paper develops a model, using multidimensional contingency table analysis, to begin to unravel some of the complexities of house buying. The model has important practical implications in helping builders, developers and planners educate house buyers and influence the choices which they make. Academic and practitioner research suggests that the ‘hierarchy of effects’ principle can be used to explain the way customers buy houses. The assumption is that ‘primary’ choice issues, like size, price and locality must be satisfied before ‘secondary’ ones, such as whether the property has double glazing, a fitted kitchen or a security system. This paper develops a model of housing choice based on a number of secondary choice issues, such as preference for different property features, preferences for alternative property designs and how knowledgeable customers were about energy efficiency issues. The modelling techniques applied include cluster analysis and multidimensional contingency table analysis. The work is the result of a U.K. research project investigating how energy efficient new housing can be marketed.