Who believes and why they believe: Individual perception of public housing and housing price depreciation

Abstract

NIMBY attitudes have been a longstanding obstacle to the implementation of public housing programs. The root cause of community opposition to public housing has primarily been the fear of housing price depreciation. This research extends the previous literature by examining individual perceptions and beliefs in the impact of public housing on neighboring housing prices. This study examines specific characteristics of residents that affect their negative beliefs in the change of housing prices due to public housing in Seoul, Korea. We use a logistic regression method to examine significant characteristics that influence the belief of housing price depreciation due to public housing developments. The findings showed that variables including income category, apartment living, negative physical image of public housing, positive and negative environmental changes due to public housing, and socioeconomically advantaged neighborhoods were positively associated with the belief of housing price depreciation due to public housing. Conversely, female gender, older age, self-employed workers, existence of public housing, and preference for the mixed income approach were negatively correlated with the belief of nearby housing price depreciation. Furthermore, these characteristics that affected the negative belief in public housing regarding the change of nearby housing prices varied across both income and age groups of residents. This study may help planners and scholars develop tailored strategies to mitigate residents' negative attitudes toward public housing.