UTILISATION OF RECREATIONAL FACILITIES IN CONDOMINIUMS

Abstract

Recreational facilities are common features in most condominiums, but seldom does one stop to examine the necessity of these facilities. Developers often include a wide variety of facilities to add grandeur to their developments without prior extensive studies into the actual demand for each type of facility and the characteristics of the users. A thorough understanding of the behaviour and the recreational lifestyles of the targeted market would enhance the marketability of a project, as the developers could provide the popular recreational amenities that cater to the needs of their targeted condominium occupiers. On the other hand, condominium residents or the potential condominium occupiers should weigh all the benefits that could be derived from the amenities against the cost of such provisions that will be imposed on them. This study examines the importance of recreational facilities in a condominium resident's accomodation selection criteria, the frequency of utilisation of these facilities and the costs and benefits of such provisions which would determine the viability of these investments. The findings of this study revealed that a large majority of condominium occupiers place a substantial emphasis on the availability of recreational facilities in their condominium selection criteria but other factors such as the location and the unit design of the estate remain as the predominant factors in the choice of accomodation. The popularity or importance of the recreational facilities in descending order is the swimming pool, tennis courts, squash courts, gymnasium and sauna. The frequency of utilisation of each type of facility corresponds according to its popularity. However, the cost-effectiveness of these amenities does not display the similar trend as aforementioned. On the whole, it was found that the facilities which command a relatively higher demand reflect a relatively lower cost-effectiveness. The statistical analysis indicated that the nationality of the condominium residents is the critical factor which affects the importance of each type of facility. As such, developers should always take this factor into consideration as to the type of facilities to provide in their developments. Ultimately, the feasibility of providing recreational facilities in a condominium depends on the merits of the individual project since the costs and benefits of such provisions vary according to the type of facilities and the characteristics, especially the nationality of the potential occupiers of that estate, respectively.