A Geographical Study of the Residential Choices of Condominium Residents
Abstract
This study aims to clarify the development of Japan’s residential structure since the late 1990s and analyzes the residential choices of condominium residents. To achieve the purpose of this study, it first examines relevant literatures dealing with condominiums and their residents. Second, an analysis is made on the people that adapt the lifestyle in condominiums and apartments in Japan. The major locations of condominiums turned out to be the following four areas: metropolitan centers, suburbs, large local cities, and small local cities. Due to the lack of any previous in depth analysis, this study conducted case studies in a suburb of Tokyo and a small local city. The center of Mito city was used in the case of a small local city, and Makuhari Bay Town was used in the case of a metropolitan suburb. In these case studies, the residential choices of condominium purchases were clarified based on their characteristics.
In the center of Mito city, condominium residents were classified into Family type, Middle-age and elderly couple type, and single type. The dominant patterns among people to move into their current residences, and their residential preferences, could be characterized with the following two points: an evaluation of residential form and the attraction of the downtown area. In addition, the decision-making patterns of the condominium residents in Mito city differed by the stages at which they decided on residential forms.
In the case of Makuhari Bay Town, developments located on the land reclaimed from the sea were preferred by residents who have previously lived in the suburbs. In addition, the expensive housing prices in the region contributed to the image of the Town as a luxury residential area. Though there were differences in the features and backgrounds of households, the characteristics of the developments and residents contributed to an attractive residential area.
From the results gained from the literature and the case studies, this study discussed the features of the major locations of condominiums and clarified the residential structure in view of condominium supply and condominium residents. Major condominium locations each case study area play a specific role in the residential structure of Japan. After the late 1990s, condominium supply increased rapidly and central areas and suburban centers upgraded in residential functions. The number of people who grew up in metropolitan areas increased and their housing needs diversified. This caused a transformation in the sense, value, and behavior of housing purchases. The analysis of the decision-making process of condominium purchases helps explain this residential transformation in Japan. As people adapted lifestyle to their condominium living, the old housing customs of Japan, which remains mainly in non-metropolitan areas nowadays, is also thought to change in the whole Japan. The transformation of housing purchase behavior leads to a transformation of the residential structure.
