HOUSING ASPIRATIONS OF SINGAPORE'S YOUTH

Abstract

Having enjoyed the bounty of Singapore's economic success, it is believed that the youth of today are likely to have high aspirations with regards to housing. As the youth hold the key to Singapore's future and are the homeowners of tomorrow, it is important for policy-makers and real estate professionals to understand what guides or influences their housing aspirations. Conventionally, demography variables are thought to influence housing behaviour, but as housing is also symbolic, the personal values held by youth may also explain their housing aspirations and behaviour. Thus, this study adopts a quantitative approach through the administration of a questionnaire to understand the housing aspirations of Singapore's youth. Both the demography variables and the personal values of the youth were collected through the questionnaire. The personal values of the youth in relation to housing were collected through a quantitative adaptation of the Means-end Chain Theory. The study found that the housing aspirations of Singapore's youth were not influenced by their personal values for the values of the youth were found to be largely similar regardless of their housing aspiration. On the other hand, demography variables, in particular, race, household income and present residence were more likely to influence their housing aspirations. In addition, the study also confirmed that more youths aspired to live in private housing rather than public housing. Armed with an understanding of the limitations and findings of this study, recommendations were also made in relation to future studies on housing aspiration and behaviour.