Housing Careers: Immigrants in Local Swedish Housing Markets

Immigration to Sweden has changed character between the 1960s and today. Early immigration occurred as a response to labour market need whereas immigrants arriving during the last decade have had difficulties entering the labour market. The aim of this study is to analyse the housing careers of different immigrant groups within different local housing markets. The housing careers of immigrant groups are then compared and related to the housing career of the total population. Earlier studies have shown that the year of immigration is of importance for the type of housing career made as well as the cultural distance between the immigrant group and the Swedish population. The immigrants included in this study have arrived from Finland, ex-Yugoslavia, Chile, Africa, Iran and Turkey, representing the three different phases of immigration to Sweden. The analyses here show that both the structure of the local housing market and time spent in Sweden are important to the housing careers of immigrants.     

Barriers and outcomes in the housing searches of new immigrants and refugees: a case study of “Black” Africans in Toronto’s rental market

Toronto is Canada’s main port of entry for new immigrants and refugees as well as the country’s most culturally diverse city. It is also one of the most expensive housing markets in Canada. This study examines the housing experiences of three relatively recent, Portuguese-speaking African immigrant groups—the Angolans, the Mozambicans, and the Cape Verdeans—in Toronto’s rental market, by examining their settlement experiences and housing search processes, as well as the outcomes of those searches. The evidence indicates that most respondents experienced discrimination by landlords in their housing search (this was less of a problem for the Cape Verdeans, who have a lighter skin colour). Both Angolans and Mozambicans encountered significant barriers in locating and securing affordable housing in a suitable neighbourhood. The study also examines their relations with the established white Portuguese community. Clearly, race (the colour of one’s skin) still matters in Toronto’s rental housing market. Racism—whether real or perceived—can result in social exclusion and housing segregation of immigrant groups in low-income neighbourhoods, and thus a slower integration of newcomers into Canadian society. This study points to the need for more comparative studies on visible and non-visible minorities, including newcomers from Africa (whether English-, French-, Spanish-, or Portuguese-speaking), to understand why certain groups are more successful than others in finding affordable housing in a neighbourhood of their choice.     

Assessment of barriers to public rental housing exits: Evidence from tenants in Beijing,China

Public rental housing (PRH) exits exert a profound influence on turnover rates, which further impact the public housing principles of fairness and efficiency. However, very few studies have attempted to investigate the tenant's barriers to exit PRH units in Chinese studies. In this paper, using data drawn from a randomly sampled survey of tenants in Beijing during the March 2017, we employ structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the factors influencing tenant's barriers to exit. We find that housing availability is the most influential factor in determining the tenant's barriers to leave PRH, and residential satisfaction is also considered as a motivation against PRH exits. In addition, residential satisfaction transfers the impact of tenant's perceptions of housing and neighborhood to exit barriers. Especially, the effects of housing availability on exit barriers are higher in some groups, such as elderly, high income households, large-sized families and respondents with long spell of residence. Any program aimed at getting tenants to leave public housing sector needs to reduce their barriers to access to the private rental market and take into consideration the various characteristics of the tenants.     

Housing Careers of Minority Ethnic Groups: Experiences,Explanations and Prospects

The housing careers of minority ethnic groups is an under-researched topic. Filling this knowledge gap is important for several reasons. Increased knowledge within this field may help explain the disadvantaged position of minority ethnic groups in housing markets in cities on different continents. Policy strategies can be formulated when it is known whether minority ethnic groups have specific preferences or suffer from specific barriers in the housing market. In this introduction to this special issue on the housing careers of minority ethnic groups, attention is paid to the concept of housing career and the definition of minority ethnic groups in different countries. The focus of the main part of the paper is the identification of factors affecting the course of housing careers in general and those of minority ethnic groups in particular.     

Housing Deprivation in Europe: On the Role of Rental Tenure Types

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the link between housing tenure types and housing deprivation in 26 European countries. Empirical analyses are based on European Union Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2007, enabling comparisons of deprivation across a large set of countries. A multilevel framework is employed. It is hypothesized that the organization of the rental sector inherently produces different housing market dynamics, which is likely to affect housing deprivation rates. An integrated rental sector covering broader parts of the population is expected to reduce the risk of housing deprivation. Housing deprivation is measured in terms of experiencing overcrowding and while also suffering any of the following accommodation problems: a leaking roof; no bath/shower; no indoor toilet; or a dwelling considered too dark. The findings indicate a negative association between the size of the rental sector and the prevalence of housing deprivation. The organization of the rental sector appears crucial and only an integrated rental sector encompassing broader parts of the population significantly reduces the prevalence of housing deprivation and its components. This association is robust in terms of confounding factors at the individual-level and central country-level contextual variables.     

Moving Up or Moving Down? Housing Careers of Turks and Moroccans in Utrecht,the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, the housing conditions of most ethnic minorities are still inferior to those of the native Dutch. The focus of the paper is the housing careers of Turks and Moroccans in the city of Utrecht. Despite some improvements and certain exceptions, they still find themselves in housing conditions inferior to those of the native Dutch. A career approach is necessary to explain these less favourable housing conditions because the present situation cannot be seen separately from decisions taken earlier. Some of these decisions are taken in the field of housing, but it is argued here that decisions taken on the labour market and with respect to the household itself are of major importance. It is also argued that the ethnic cultural approach, which stresses the housing preferences of minority ethnic groups, does not adequately explain the housing conditions and housing careers of the Turks and Moroccans in the Netherlands.     

From renting to owning: Life course and housing market circumstances

Moving from a rental dwelling to owner occupation is an important event in the housing career of a household. The literature shows that considerations of housing consumption, related to household circumstances, play a dominant role in the decision to rent or to buy a dwelling. The analysis in this article substantiates again that family status must have reached a certain stability, and prospects of a substantial permanent income must be good, before the move from renting to owning is considered. But general economic circumstances which manifest themselves into changes in housing market conditions, also have measurable influences on the decision for renting or owning. In the Netherlands, the propensity for renters to buy a dwelling were low between 1978 and 1982 when prices of owner occupation were falling, mortgage interest rate was high and income prospects were uncertain. Government policy certainly has an influence on the decision of households to rent or to buy a dwelling. In the long term government promotion of one particular tenure sector over a long period may well stimulate household preference for this sector. And by consistently building large parts of new construction in one tenure, opportunities of moving in or into this sector are increased as this article illustrates for Randstad Holland.     

Move histories and socio-economic position

Conclusion The results are based on the Utrecht survey and earlier findings in the Amersfoort region. Perhaps the exact proportions differ from the average Dutch situation, but it is very clear that the dwelling careers of people of the three socio-economic groups differ enormously. The group with the best education, jobs and income has a more favourite start of the dwelling career and manages to reach a good house in several steps. The others also succeed in improving their housing situation, but not to the same extent as the wealthier people. They stay in another segment of the housing market. Not only money in a direct way, but also labour and housing market, urban structure and government control cause differences between the groups. New patterns of household formation are emerging. It is obvious that in the near future other types of careers will emerge. There is a growing demand for small houses. In our view it is not only important to decide how much and what kind of dwellings are necessary but also the location of those added houses, for a diversified housing supply in a neighbourhood is conducive a good use of the whole housing stock.     

A critical review of the modernization of Dutch rent policy

Since the Second World War, the Dutch rental market has been subject to close government regulation. In the 1970s, however, landlords started to gain greater freedom in setting the initial rental price and in determining the level of annual rent increases. In late 2004, the government announced plans whereby the hitherto cautious liberalization of the market would be continued with greater vigour. The proposed modernization of rental policy will be achieved by removing all restrictions on one quarter of the rental stock, and by implementing substantial rent increases in the remaining regulated sector. This paper gives a critical analysis of the new rent policy. This is done in the light of two considerations: the current context of the housing market, and the objectives and effects which the government hopes to achieve through the new rental policy. The author concludes that the implementation of this policy will have many disadvantages, and that alternative strategies exist which will not only serve to attain the objectives of public housing policy, but will have a less disruptive influence on the Dutch housing market.     

Private Rental Housing in Hong Kong

This paper examines selected aspects of housing policy and its influence on private rental housing in Hong Kong. Its ambitions are modest, in part because so little research has been conducted on the sector, as a consequence of the small size of the sector as well as the concentration of socio-political, economic and policy analyses on the other major housing sectors, namely public renting and home ownership. It is argued that a fundamental function of private renting, to provide a functional substitute and counter-balance to distortions in the market for private home ownership, has been systematically undermined in Hong Kong. In spite of its historical importance in meeting Hong Kong people's housing needs, the sector's decline has been steep and it can now be fairly described as a marginalised tenure, despite incomplete structural adjustment post- Asian Financial Crisis. It is suggested that a fundamental reason for the decline of the private rental sector has been the impact of government policy, which undermined the private rental sector and thus an important element of the market mechanism in housing provision. The government's ideology of home ownership has also functioned to transfer lower middle-income families into the owner occupied sector. Although the Hong Kong government has not been as overtly hostile to this sector as governments have been elsewhere, it nevertheless also seems to envisage no real role for the private rental sector in a housing delivery system molded by policy preference for home ownership, rather than fostering viable economic competition by also facilitating an efficient private rental sector.     

重庆公共租赁房室内空间适应性研究

公租房自“十二五”成为建设重点以来,各城市都对其进行着大规模的建造。重庆公租房的质与量都走在全国前列,其建设量大、受众群体多、社会影响面广.在政策背景的影响下,公租房内部空间具有自身的特征,而该特征又影响着公租房设计的可持续性。本文从住宅适应性理论视角出发,结合重庆公共租赁房现状,揭示其内部空间适应性设计的必要性．从结构、套型、过渡空间和主要功能空间四个方面探讨公租房空间的开放性和灵活性,使公租房内部空间能随时间的变化而变化,满足公祖房居住的多样性需求。     

Changing Inequalities in Housing Outcomes across Western Europe

We evaluate to what extent the financialization of housing is associated with changing inequalities in housing outcomes for low-income owners and private renters, using data for two time points (1995 and 2012) for 11–13 western European countries. We find that in countries with a more commodified housing regime, low-income respondents experience more affordability problems (resulting in a wider gap with middle-income respondents), but better housing conditions. Concerning trends over time, we find that with regard to housing affordability, in most countries the position of low-income owners and private renters has deteriorated over time compared to their middle-income counterparts. This trend can be explained by increases in the level of financialization of housing, and decreases in the supply of private rental housing – controlling for trends in absolute incomes and income inequality. Declining affordability for low-income owners and private renters in more financialized housing regimes has furthermore not been compensated by improved housing conditions. Although it may have intensified since 2008, the observed trend does not originate from declining household incomes following the Great Financial Crisis (2008–2009), as the affordability gap between low- and middle-income private renters already grew significantly larger with the increased financialization during the period 1995–2007.     

Private Renter Households: Who Are The Long-Term Renters?

Despite the perception that Australia's private rental market serves principally as a short-term transitional housing tenure, 40 per cent of households in this sector have rented for longer than ten years. This paper enlarges the housing career concept by proposing two types of long-term private renters: continuals (always rented since leaving the parental home) and returners (rented, purchased home, rented again). By using the multivariate statistical technique, CHAID, the analysis demonstrates that continuals and returners form ten distinct renter segments, defined largely by differences in age, marital status, source of income and household income. In the main, continual segments feature renters in the 30–44 year age group, not yet married or, if married (or formerly married), reliant on social security payments. In contrast, most returners earn private incomes, and tend to be older than the continuals (generally over 45 years). The segment most strongly associated with returning to rental housing exhibits the highest household income level, prompting speculation that some households may choose renting over ownership. The analysis further reveals that continual longterm renters encounter a disproportionate share of housing difficulties, including high rents, poor affordability and excessive residential upheaval.     

Cultural Dimensions of African Immigrant Housing in Toronto: A Qualitative Insight

This qualitative study examines the lived experiences of Ghanaians and Somalis in Toronto, highlighting the multifaceted interplays between their cultures, housing problems, and coping strategies. We found that, unlike the situation in their homelands where many were involved in communal living out of desire, in Toronto many are driven to live communally for reasons of cost. Also, some respondents have to either improvise, or totally forgo, various culinary practices because of the ways homes are designed in Toronto. Perhaps, no other cultural attribute was found to be more consequential in the housing decisions of our respondents than their religion; not only did it influence their choice of neighborhood and whether or not their internal living arrangements were gendered, but it also had some bearing on the acquisition of interest-laden loans for housing among many Somalis.     

The Resource of Ethnicity in the Housing Careers and Preferences of the Vietnamese Communities in London

This paper briefly outlines the housing careers of Vietnamese households since their arrival in the UK in the late 1970s and draws on a series of focus groups to examine the role that ethnicity has played, and may continue to play, in their housing careers. It notes that the first arrivals lacked the infrastructure of an existing Vietnamese community in the UK and were further disadvantaged by the dispersal policy adopted by the voluntary agencies responsible for their resettlement. The research indicates that ethnicity has been a crucial influence on the housing careers of Vietnamese households, and in particular on the location of the communities. It is argued that it is essential that researchers pay attention to the role of ethnicity as a resource and a constraint within a housing career.     

Rental Market Restructuring in South Korea: The Decline of the Chonsei Sector and its Implications

Chonsei contracts are a specific type of rental property letting in which tenants pay very large lump sum deposits in return for a short fixed tenancy period with no monthly rent payments. This system is specific to South Korea and became dominant at the end of the twentieth century when it accounted for almost two-thirds of the rental market and almost 30 per cent of all housing. In the past decade, however, there have been marked declines in the number of chonsei tenancies along with a rise in other hybrid forms of renting. In this paper, we examine transformations in the chonsei sector that reflect a number of realignments in market and economic conditions as well as shifting household and demographic landscapes. The restructuring of the rental sector is, arguably, not only reshaping housing careers but also reinforcing social inequalities. We further explore the meaning of the ‘chonsei crisis’ as well as related policy issues, comparative concerns and socioeconomic implications.     

The extreme primacy of location: Beijing's underground rental housing market

This article analyzes Beijing's subterranean housing market within the context of the city's larger housing supply system. The emergence of this widespread market of rooms for rent in bomb shelters and basements indicates a demand for housing attributes that neither the mainstream private housing market nor public housing programs yet supply. The study collected market data about these rental units from internet ads during October 2012–September 2013 and mapped their locations, displaying their general spatial distribution. Next, a hedonic price model was deployed on this data which reveals the relative priorities and preferences in price levels, location, and housing amenities of the middle–lower income population, particularly migrants who do not possess hukou, Chinese urban residence rights.     

'Blacks in near‐ghettos?’ black visible minority population in metropolitan Toronto housing authority public housing units

Concern has been expressed in Toronto since the 1970s about the ‘ghettoisation’ of black tenants in Metropolitan Toronto Housing Authority (MTHA) public housing. Very little specific evidence exists, however, about the incidence of blacks in MTHA housing. The objectives of the present study are to provide a more detailed perspective on the incidence of blacks in MTHA housing compared to the rest of Toronto and the segregation of blacks within the MTHA system. The results indicate that the proportion of black tenants in MTHA housing increased from 4.2 per cent in 1971 to 27.4 per cent in 1986, a much greater increase than for blacks in the rest of Toronto. Explanations include the recent black Caribbean immigration to Toronto, income constraints, family composition and supply, cost and discriminatory constraints in Toronto's rental housing market. The evidence also suggests that there is some concentration of blacks within MTHA housing, especially in suburban high rise developments. The most likely explanation is a form of ‘constrained choice’.     

Housing entry pathways of refugees in Vienna,a city of social housing

This article presents the findings of an empirical study investigating refugees’ difficult entry into Vienna’s ‘tight’ housing market. Arguing that newcomers’ access to housing can be better understood by a closer look at the actors involved in the housing search process, an actor-centred approach is used. Complementing the constructivist pathway framework with a model of search based on Bourdieu’s theory of practice, four types of housing entry pathways could be identified. This study draws on semi-structured in-depth interviews with forced migrants who arrived in Austria in recent years. The analysis of newcomers’ housing entry pathways not only sheds light on the coordination structures at work in a city of social housing, but also on ‘good’ and ‘bad’ rental housing submarkets that have emerged in the course of the recent refugee movement. The paper concludes that a high proportion of social housing does not provide any indication that newcomers are granted better access to secure affordable housing.     

The housing careers of black middle-class residents in a South African metropolitan area

Under apartheid, black African households could not own land or homes in most major urban centres in South Africa. This limited residential mobility and locked many households into state rental accommodation in townships. Homeownership for all South Africans was restored in the mid-1980 s and the Group Areas Act was repealed in 1991. Democracy opened up economic opportunities previously unavailable to black people. This paper investigates the effect on black middle-class South African households’ residential mobility and housing careers. A retrospective cross-sectional survey of 244 such homeowners in the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality determined their last five housing states. Changes in housing state indicated a steady improvement in housing quality, but tenure changes were not necessarily unidirectional—some had reverted to rental. More than 85% of the study participants had used mortgages to finance their housing career. Very few had financed their housing using own savings, an inheritance, or sale of a previous house, and not many had used the government subsidy. We found that housing careers are bridging the historical spatial racial divide in this municipality.