Housing Consumption: A Territorial Analysis of Housing Market Drivers

Housing is more than a living space; it represents a social status capable of promoting several forms and levels of socialization and segregation. Housing is characterized by a set of attributes and functions that are valued differently, in which the consumption of “good housing” is made considering the preferences of their attributes, perceived tangibly/intangibly by the consumers. The reciprocal relation between housing and space, and the lack of structured information capable of apprising the key drivers of such dimensions increase the complexity of understanding the rational mechanisms of evaluating the real housing value. Despite the challenges associated with the modelling of housing markets, urban studies and spatial econometric literature provide a broad (but unfinished) theoretical framework and practical tools that are able to describe, understand, and predict households' housing consumption. Thus, the aim of this chapter is to present concepts and techniques to rationally capture individual and collective housing preferences, and the way in which they interact.