Anna Jancz
Seniors’ Housing Preferences in Rural Areas
Purpose: Identify senior people’s housing preferences
Methods: Survey questionnaire conducted among seniors in rural communes of the Greater Poland Province
Findings: What was characteristic of the group under the survey was their accommodation in a single-family house. The respondents were not inclined to migrate and they preferred to stay in their present house or flat and adapt it to suit their future needs connected with the old age.
People who would decide to move would mostly choose to live a detached/terraced house (up to 100m2) or a two-room flat in a low block (up to four floors). As regards financing, they would prefer to exchange their old flat for a new one or sign a long-term rent agreement. The respondents would like to live in the countryside or in the outskirts of the city. They would also choose a location not too distant from their present place of living due to their family relations and neighbour friends.
The respondents would also consider moving to a building adapted to the needs of senior residents – flats with facilities for disabled people and services available for seniors. The most valued services were medical-nursing and rehabilitation care. Housing preferences of older people living in a rural area were difficult to determine, especially among men. During meetings of seniors most often women participated. Research was time consuming and expensive. The housing preferences survey for seniors should be extended to studies in other voivodships.
Research implications: The research can be used by local government and developers to create an offer of senior housing in Poland for different groups of elderly people.
Keywords: housing needs; housing preferences; senior; housing market
JEL codes: R31
Category of the paper: research article
CITATION (APA): Jancz, A. (2019). Seniors’ Housing Preferences in Rural Area. World of Real Estate Journal, 108(2), 19-35.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14659/worej.2019.108.02
