Understanding property cycles in a residential market

Purpose – This paper aims to review property cycle theory and the relevance of the larger body of knowledge about cycles with reference to the housing market. It also aims to highlight the lack of research into property cycles in the residential sector on a suburb or smaller region basis, as well as the potential for increased knowledge about cycles to assist to avoid housing stress.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper conducts a literature review of previous cycle research and encourages the use of cycle theory. It discusses the established body of knowledge about business cycles and the office market sector, as well as investigating levels of housing affordability and how detailed knowledge about property cycles can assist to decrease housing affordability in residential areas, which will eventually experience a downturn.

Findings – It is argued that an increased level of certainty about cycle behaviour in particular suburbs will give households a higher level of confidence when considering whether and when to enter the market. Property cycle research has the potential to assist low-income homeowners to better understand the characteristics of cycles and associated risks in each residential.

Research limitations/implications – This is a conceptual paper and has conducted a review of cycle research and housing affordability in certain countries. Some areas or countries may be affected to varying degrees by property cycles and levels of housing affordability.

Practical implications – In extended periods of high volatility it is argued that a better understanding of housing cycles will allow more homeowners to avoid negative equity and the stress associated with repossessions. Property cycles are unavoidable although there is typically relatively little information available in the open market about the timing and amplitude of cycles in individual areas.

Originality/value – This paper is unique as it highlights the potential for property cycles to be used to avoid housing stress in the residential market. Traditionally cycle research is used to increase returns and avoid downturns in the office and/or business sectors.

Household composition and housing expenditures in rental-occupied and owner-occupied markets

This article examines the relationship between household compositions and housing expenditures in rental-occupied and owner-occupied markets. The author finds that renters allocate their budget proportionately between housing and nonhousing goods for an additional household member, leaving the budget share of housing expenditures unchanged. For homeowners, nevertheless, an extra member implies a reduction in housing expenditures as a share of total budget. Although age and gender compositions turn out to be significant in determining the budget share of housing expenditures for renters, they play no major role for homeowners. And although an increase in the number of working members for renters significantly reduces the share of budget spent on housing, it has no significant impact for their owner counterparts. Moreover, keeping total expenditures constant, the main income source of the head of the household does not make any difference in terms of resource allocation across housing and nonhousing goods for both renters and owners.

Multi-owner low-cost housing management in Malaysia : effects of owner-occupant characteristics and occupancy rates

Purpose – Homeownership is considered both economically and socially beneficial for homeowners. However, in the collective living arrangement, reaching a consensus with regard to the residential environment is difficult. The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that can reduce the conflict among the stakeholders in multi-owner low-cost housing in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach – This study tested three hypotheses examining whether the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of owner-occupants and occupancy rates affect owner-occupants' satisfaction with stakeholders' relationships. Data were collected through questionnaires from owner-occupants of multi-owner low-cost settlements in Selangor state. Data on housing characteristics were collected from chairpersons of the respective owners' organisations. The data were treated as parametric, and analysis of variance was conducted.
Findings – Four factors – number of children in the family, duration of residency, participation in social activities and participation in meetings – were found to affect owners-occupants' satisfaction with the stakeholders' relationships. The significant effect of occupancy rates was also indicated.
Practical implications – The Management Corporations (MCs) should encourage social relationships among residents. To avoid conflict, the costs and benefits of participation must be balanced. Policy makers should take two key aspects seriously: owner-managed strategy practices by the MCs and high rates of tenant-residents. A mechanism should be identified for assisting the MCs in housing management and for protecting the benefits of homeownership for owner-occupants.
Originality/value – Past studies on low-income household settlements examined public housing or low-income homeowners of single detached dwellings. This study adds to the existing body of knowledge by examining low-income homeowners in multi-owner low-cost settlements.

Duration and persistence in multidimensional deprivation : methodology and Australian application

This article extends the recent literature on static multidimensional deprivation to propose dynamic deprivation measures that incorporate both the persistence and duration of deprivation across multiple dimensions. The article then illustrates the usefulness of the extension by applying it to Australian panel data for the recent period, 2001–2008. The empirical application exploits the subgroup decomposability of the deprivation measures to identify the subgroups that are more deprived than others. The proposed measure is also decomposable by dimensions and is used to identify the dimensions where deprivation is more persistent. The comparison between the subgroups shows that the divide between homeowners and non-homeowners is one of the sharpest, with the latter suffering much more deprivation than the former. The results are robust to alternative schemes for weighting and aggregating the dimensions as well as to the choice of model parameters.

Backyard bandicoots : community attitudes towards conservation planning in residential developments

As global populations grow, cities are stretching their urban boundaries into rural areas and bringing the challenges of biodiversity conservation into the backyards of homeowners. Planning controls can attempt to regulate residents’ behaviours to support conservation actions for threatened species but need to consider whether community attitudes align with conservation objectives. This study investigated community attitudes towards planned management interventions in a new conservation strategy designed to protect endangered Southern Brown Bandicoots in new residential estates around Cranbourne, Australia. A survey (n = 318, response rate 15.2 per cent) investigated current resident attitudes towards bandicoot conservation, cat ownership and effectiveness of current planning controls. Results indicate community support for a range of bandicoot conservation actions including confinement of domestic cats and non-lethal cat controls and for new developments being cat-free with bandicoot habitat corridors. Awareness of bandicoots correlated with higher support for conservation actions while cat owners were less supportive overall, particularly to limitations on cat ownership. Potential barriers to management interventions include inadequate knowledge, perceived associated risks and housing turnover. This information is valuable for conservation planning for new developments and to improve implementation of planning controls in existing residential areas for delivery of long-term protection for threatened species like Southern Brown Bandicoots.