published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

Home ownership has been recognised by most of the literatures as the preferable tenure compared with the renters. It has been the housing policy of the Hong Kong Government to promote home ownership to increase the sense of belonging of the Hong Kong people. This paper attempted to explore if home-owning would have impact on one’s sense of belonging in the low-income group by making comparison of the sense of belonging between the PRH tenants and the HOS owners. The results of the survey revealed that the HOS owners did have a higher sense of belonging than the PRH tenants. Nevertheless, home ownership is not the main contribution. There are other factors affecting one’s sense of belonging. In the unique political situation of Hong Kong, the analysis shows that ‘family’ is the most significant element in anchoring the sense of belonging of the low-income group. However, the findings also confirmed that home ownership would bring societal benefits in fostering a sense of belonging among the public as well as to bring neighbourhood stability through homeowners’ social participation and attachment to the local community. Both the PRH tenants and HOS owners indicated home-owing being their preferred housing tenure. Despite that there are many respondents viewed that the societal benefits from home ownership may also be achieved in the public rental housing estates, they agreed that the Government should offer subsidies to the Hong Kong people to assist them in acquiring home ownership in the form of HOS. It is justified that the Hong Kong Government will re-launch the HOS in the near future to realise the aspiration of home ownership of the low-income people and the young generation in view of the incredibly high housing prices which are far beyond their housing affordability. It is also observed that the public rental housing estates did offer a stable community to the PRH tenants who rated an admirable score of sense of belonging to Hong Kong. To promote sense of belonging, provision of more housing rental flats to low-income people is strongly recommended. / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

The existing literature on household wealth accumulation has hitherto recognized the lifecycle effects, household socio-economic characteristics, bequest motives, and intergenerational transfers as important factors affecting household net wealth. The two empirical essays in this thesis expand the literature by emphasizing the likely roles that a household's tenure choice and home equity borrowing decisions have in its wealth accumulation process. The first essay, entitled "Homeownership and Household Wealth Accumulation", tests whether homeownership has placed the owner household on a more favorable wealth accumulation path, based on past observations that the values of owner-occupied housing have grown at a real rate greater than those of financial or other tangible assets. The premise is that, while the tenure choice decision is affected by a household's net wealth, the housing tenure chosen could place a household on different wealth accumulation paths over its life-cycle. Controlling for selection bias arising from tenure status, the results indicate that typical homeowners and renters have distinct wealth accumulation processes. While homeownership improves the wealth position of homeowners, the renter households are, however, better off in their existing tenure than otherwise. It appears that households self-select themselves into the appropriate tenure that optimizes their wealth accumulation paths. The second essay on "Household Consumption/Investment Behavior and Home Equity Loans" investigates which behavioral model underpins the homeowners' consumption and investment decisions of home equity loan funds, and how these decisions impact portfolio decisions and wealth accumulation. It concludes that the 'life-cycle model' and the 'precautionary savings model' prevail over the 'bequest motive model' in motivating the household consumption/investment decisions of home equity loans. Home equity loans alter the illiquid nature of housing investment through convenient tapping of housing equity, and reduce household preference to hold liquid assets to meet precautionary needs. Their presence encourages loan users to hold smaller shares of liquid cash and financial assets in total assets, and to diversify from housing asset to business, real estate and illiquid nonhousing assets. They generally reduce homeowners' net wealth, reflecting a tendency for borrowed funds to be consumed or invested in loss-incurring assets.

Thesis (M.U.R.P. 1978) from the Department of Architecture, University of Adelaide.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 194-203).