Institute of Town Planners, India Journal 7 - 1, 96 - 102, January - March 2010

Understanding the Need of Home Buyers Satisfaction for Dwellers Well-being

Dr. Yogesh K. Garg, Dr. M.K. Trivedi and Prof. A.K. Vinodia
Abstract This paper seeks to expand the understanding about poverty and its causes and attempts to spell out policies to create an urban situation free of poverty in all its dimensions. It argues that major reductions in human deprivation are indeed possible when the forces of public synergy and technological advancements can be harnessed to serve the interests of the poor people. Even though current and future challenges are daunting, we have entered a new millennium with a better understanding of urban development management. But we should also recognize that there is a need for much more emphasis on solidly laying institutional and social foundations for managing vulnerability and encouraging participation of the poor to ensure inclusive growth.

1.

INTRODUCTION

Shelter is considered as one of the basic necessities for healthy living. Housing in India is not merely a shelter but also a matter of self satisfaction and pride in the society. Adequate shelter has been defined as more than a roof over ones head, it means adequate privacy, adequate space, physical accessibility, adequate security of tenure, structural stability and durability, adequate lighting, heating and ventilation, adequate basic infrastructure such as water, sanitation, and waste management facilities, suitable environmental quality and health factors and adequate and accessible location with regard to work and basic facilities, all of which should be available at an affordable cost (UN Habitat, 1996). During last two decades, the growing economy, high salary and easy bank loans along with government policies to promote housing had given a significant boost to the housing sector. This boost not only increases the housing activities but also influences home buyers priorities and attitudes regarding home ownership. One of the major changes in priority is the age at which one owns a house and the attitude towards owning it. Current trends reveal that the age of home ownership changes from late fifties to early thirties. According to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) the average age of home buyers in India have come down by nearly 20 years (ASSOCHAM, 2007). The age group for property registration with real estate developers like DLF Prasvnath, Omaxe, Unitech , in New Delhi and NCR, etc. for personal use was between 30 to 38 years compared to an age between 55-58 years for buyers twenty years ago.
Dr. Yogesh .K. Garg, Faculty, Department of Architect and Planning, MANIT, Bhopal has done B.Arch., M.U.R.P. from IIT, Roorkee, Ph.D. E-mail: ar_ykgarg@yahoo.com Dr. M.K. Tiwari, Reader, Department of Civil Engineering, MITS, Gwalior has done B.E., M.Tech. (IIT Kharagpur), Ph.D. from IIT, Roorkee. E-mail: mktrivedifce@yahoo.co.in A.K. Vinodia, Faculty, School of Planning and Architecture, (SPA), Bhopal has done B.Arch., M.U.R.P. from IIT, Roorkee. E-mail: ajayvinodia@gmail.com
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This change made an impact on the attitude of owning a house. Previously in the age of late fifties, people used to construct individual houses conforming to their life style, family size, affordability and other factors. They also preferred to construct the house themselves by giving it a years time to maintain the quality of construction. One could afford a house as one occupied much senior position and achieved most of his goals till that age. Whereas in contrast young home buyers can not afford to invest years of time for construction of their houses as they are at the start of their careers and have many milestones to cover. Hence their attitude is sifting towards purchasing readymade houses at little higher prices from the builders. Due to this change in attitude, not only small builders have mushroomed at local level but multi national companies and large business groups such as DLF, Ansals, Sahara, Mantri Reality, etc; have also started making huge investments in the housing sector. Every home buyer approaches a builder for purchase of house with Fig. 1 Gap between Expectation and Delivery Quality certain expectations. The discrepancies between customers expectations and experiences, and customer and provider perceptions are significantly related to customer satisfaction (Brown and Swartz, 1989). Expectations of the home buyers are directly related to his well being. Thus customer satisfaction has become a key driver for the private new house building industry and there has been a shift from producer convenience to customer focus (Barlow and Ozaki, 2000). Since a customer makes judgments about services and products based on her expectations, analyzing the gap between customers aspirations and what has been delivered provides clues as to how house builders have performed and what they should do in order to improve their performance (Fig. 1). The concept of homebuyers satisfaction is at very premature stage in India though a lot more is done in developed countries. Number of authors has used some form of comparison to model housing satisfaction across the developed world. Some of those noteworthy contributions are: Habitability of a house is influenced not only by the engineering elements but also by social, behavioral, cultural, and other elements in the entire societalenvironmental system (Onibokun, 1974); The concept of housing satisfaction has been used as a key predictor of an individuals perception of general quality of life (Campbell et al, 1976 as cited in Djebarni and Al-Abed, 2000);
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Institute of Town Planners, India Journal 7 - 1, 96 - 102, January - March 2010

Housing satisfaction is defined as the degree of contentment experienced by an individual or a family member with regard to the current housing situation (McCray and Day, 1977); The concept of housing does not lie within the individual dwelling. It is a composite of the overall physical and social components that make up the housing system (Francescato, et al, 1987); Housing satisfaction is defined as perceived gap between a respondents needs and aspirations and the reality of the current residential context (Galster, 1987: 93 as cited in Varady and Preiser, 1998); Housing satisfaction is a complex attitude (Satsangi and Kearns, 1992). Housing satisfaction is influenced by a broad array of objectives and subjectively perceived conditions (Theodori, 2001); and The concept of housing or residential satisfaction is often employed to evaluate residents perceptions of and feelings for their housing units and the environment (Ogu, 2002).

2. HOUSING IN THE LIGHT OF MASLOWS HIERARCHY OF NEEDS Maslows hierarchy of needs provides a useful framework for identifying the interlocking needs that may be served by shelter. 2.1 Physiological Needs Minimal shelter may provide a place to rest and sleep at a time when human beings are especially vulnerable. However under such circumstances, other physical needs may be met outside the shelter. Food may be eaten out of doors or prepared at a fire close to this shelter. The larger environment amply provides air and space. While people from different cultures might have different perceptions of quality of breathable air, light, and ventilation, housing in urban context by contrast, is designed to provide a reasonably controlled environment with respect to light, temperature, ventilation, and sanitation. 2.2 Security and Safety Needs Housing creates a shell for its occupants and protects them from the outside world. Within its shell, a family or other human groups can feel safe. It can accumulate and safeguard its possessions. The family can store food and their items needed to maintain it. The house may also be the center for the groups noted observances and may provide a place for the familys sacred objects, a shrine or other stability oriented possessions. 2.3 Social Needs Housing provides a setting for interaction and the intimate activities that make up our social experience. Housing has tremendous impact on social relations. The form of housing dictates the activities that can take place in it. Social relations are quite different in joint family as compared to striations, where housing accommodates a single nuclear family. Furthermore cultural background, the layout of space, and the arrangement of furnishings and equipments influence the nature of the activities that can take place within its walls.
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2.4 Self Esteem or Ego Needs In most cultures, housing has a status confessing function. Every culture has an image of how its people ought to live. To the extent that shelter conforms to the norms of the society reflecting self-esteem. Our concept of self is reinforced when our homes meet the expectations of our peer groups. In our society, success confers status, and feelings of accomplishment and achievement are important components of self-esteem. Success allows a family to move up, and upward mobility includes an improved standard of living represented by access to improved housing improved services in a better neighborhood than the family enjoyed previously. 2.5 Self Actualization Needs Our need for order, beauty, and meaning in over lives is equally important. Directing creativity toward meeting this need is on advanced concept that is realized in the context of the values and goals considered important by a particular person of family. For self actualizing of people and families housing is more than a place to live. Here housing needs become distinctly individualized and personalized. In this context, the home may be a reflection, in fact a symbol of self-expression and self-realization. 3. HOUSING AND LIFE STYLES While Maslows hierarchy provides a useful framework for identifying the interlocking needs that may be served by shelter. Subtler, and perhaps harder to identity, are the myriad wants we develop over a lifetime and associate with housing. These wants, some of which might be classified as luxuries rather than necessities, may be traced to family influences, peer pressure or the appeals of advertising and promotion campaigns that build up many of our expectations concerning housing. Life style may be defined as the way of life followed by any group of people, and it includes their social roles and the characteristic setting in which behavior associated with these roles takes place. A life style may, therefore, reflect a preference for or a province against a particular way of living sometimes at an unconscious level. The factors most significant in establishing a life style are: age, occupation, marital status, education, and income - each of which influences our social roles. A familys life style will reflect the work roles of the parents, their education, and their single or combined incomes since these factors contribute to shaping their interests and activities. Furthermore, life style is related to the dominant role in a persons life at a given time such as the student, the young worker, the young married, young parent, the aging parent, which manifests it in varied housing requirements. Another important aspect of life style is the dominant sphere of activity of a given time in a persons familys life such as school, work place, on home since these are the places where role behavior occurs. As roles become more fragmented, life style become more complex and both new behaviors and was behavior settings may become important and must be made available in conjunction with housing.
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Institute of Town Planners, India Journal 7 - 1, 96 - 102, January - March 2010

4. THE EMERGING PARAMETERS FOR HOME BUYERS SATISFACTION Following are the parameters that are used to predict the satisfaction of the home buyers from their dwellings in various studies: Parameters related to the user: Family type with children or without children or crowded, socio-economical structure or social status, profession, previous environment (appropriateness of dwelling to housing stereotype), sex, age, education, income, and period of stay; Parameters related to the environment: Physical comfort, overall appearance and physical condition, accessibility to services, development scale, organization (planning), rise in value and level of security; Parameters related to the building: Management, location, value and physical concept; Parameters related to the spaces in the dwelling: quality of spaces, physical comfort, spatial organization (design quality and functional relations between spaces and location of spaces in respect to each other), size of house, location of the house and dwelling aesthetics; and Parameters related to human needs are: convenience, safety, need for social contact, freedom, activity, work and presence, beauty, meaning, value and social approval (need for social status).

5. HOME BUYERS DISSATISFACTION Over the years, many housing satisfaction surveys and studies were conducted in various parts of the globe to examine the users expectations for housing. The studies unfolded some critical areas of concern. CABE (2005) has reached the following conclusions: There has been growing concern that the internal space of new dwellings may be getting smaller; There is evidence that less family size housing is being provided; There is however concern that internal space within both family and non-family homes may also be reducing; This has implications for accessibility, sustainability and quality of life including health; There is a relationship between size of units and affordability; and Government targets have focused on unit output rather than the quality of provision.

Karn and Sheridans (1994) conclusions: There was a continuing decline in the standards of homes built by housing associations; Other design changes have also occurred which adversely affect usable spaces such as combining of living and circulation spaces with extremely poor storage space;
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The private sector provided a wider range of floor space standards but were lower substantially; Comparison of space standards is complicated by lower occupancy in the private sector; and New housing association homes were being built in a form which allowed little scope for enlargement or adaptation at a later date. Terraces or small plot sizes, and rooms were too small to remedy the lack of internal floor space.

Altman (1975) outlines the effects: As the number of persons within homes increases: The number of social contacts increases and privacy decreases; The number of unwanted social interactions increases; Parents may be unable to monitor the childrens behavior; and Watching television may be frustrated and sharing of spaces. Pressures arising from these situations may lead to interpersonal aggression, withdrawal from the family, sexually deviant behavior, psychological distress or physical illness. From these studies, it is clear that there is a mismatch between homebuyers aspirations for dwelling type, number of bedrooms and amount of space provided for living and storage. In addition market demands appear to be pushing in the direction of increased space and flexibility, and the ability for more rooms to be multi-use rather than rooms that are designed so as to be capable of only allowing one use such as bedroom. This suggests that dwellings developed to very tight space standards will be seen as less attractive and therefore less valuable than dwellings with more space. 6. CONCLUSIONS In India, not much research has been done in understanding and conceptualizing the needs of home buyers satisfaction for dwellers well being. With the changing scenario of the Indian economy and increased horizon of job opportunity, a new section of young people with high salary package has emerged as home buyers in India. Due to noticeable increase in purchase of readymade houses many national and multinational real estate developers have cropped up in all metropolitan areas and large cities to exploit this potential. The developers play lord and master to middle income individuals who have a dream of owning a house. Most sale agreements are heavily loaded in favor of builders in the currently unregulated market. There are several cases where home owner finds cheated by builders mostly on account of its advance promises and supplied quality. Some malicious terms like super built-up area, multi-use space, clubbing of circulation spaces, etc. are used to confuse the customers. Minimum internal dwelling area is drastically reduced and not sufficient for performing various
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indoor activities where as habitants taste, psychology and life style are merely considered. Deficient services and amenities, small sit-out, poor light and ventilation, undeveloped external environment and low material specifications are the main causes of major defects in many real estate products in India. Low satisfaction levels from the dwelling can result in stress, health and adjustment problems and pathologic symptoms. In addition to this, inadequate fundamental dwelling norms may be harmful for health. Therefore, it is very important to predict the fundamental housing norms and standards in light of ready made houses (Ukoha, and Beamish, 1997).
REFERENCES ASSOCHAM (2007) Emerging Age Trends for Buying Dwelling Units for Self-Use, ASSOCHAM, Mumbai. Barlow, J. and Ozaki, R. (2000) User needs, customization and new technology in UK house building, A paper presented at the ENHR 2000 conference, Gvle, Sweden, 2630 June. Brown, S.W. and Swartz, T.A. (1989) A gap analysis of professional service quality, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 53, pp. 9298. CABE (2005) What Homebuyers Want: Attitudes and Decision-making among consumers, CABE. Francescato, G., Weidman, S. and Anderson, J.R. (1987) Residential satisfaction: Its uses and limitations in housing research, in Vliet, W.V., Choldin, H., Michelson, W., and Popenoe, D. (eds.).Housing and Neighbourhoods: Theoretical and Empirical Contributions, Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut. Karn, V. and Sheridan, L. (1994) New Homes in the 1990s: A study of design, space and amenity in housing association and private sector housing, Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the University of Manchester, Manchester. McCray, J.W. and Day, S.S. (1977) Housing Values, Aspirations and Satisfactions as Indicators of Housing Needs, Home Economics, Vol.5, No.4, pp.244-254. Ogu, V.I. (2002) Urban Residential Satisfaction and the Planning Implications in a Developing World Context: The Example of Benin City, Nigeria, International Planning Studies, Vol.7, No.1, pp. 37-53. Onibokun, A.G. (1974). Evaluating Consumers Satisfaction with Housing: An Application of a System Approach, Journal of American Institute of Planners, 40(3): 189-200 Parker, C. and Mathews, B.P (2001) Customer Satisfaction: Contrasting Academic and Consumers Interpretations, Marketing Intelligence and Planning, Vol.19, No.1, pp.38-46. Satsangi, M. and Kearns, A. (1992) The Use and Interpretation of Tenant Satisfaction Surveys in British Social Housing, Environment and Planning, Vol10, No.4, pp.317-331. Theodori, G.L. (2001) Examining the Effects of Community Satisfaction and Attachment on Individual Well-being, Rural Sociology, Vol.4, No.6, pp.618-628. Ukoha, O. and Beamish, J. (1997) Assessment of Residents Satisfaction with Public Housing in Abuja, Nigeria, Habitat International, Vol.21, No.4, pp.445-460. UN Habitat (1996) An Urbanizing World, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

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