INFLUENCE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD FACTORS ON THE CHOICE OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY LOCATION IN IBADAN, NIGERIA.

Abstract

The thesis studied the influence of neighbourhood factors on the choice of residential property location in Ibadan, Nigeria with a view of determining their socio-economic implications on residential rental market. It identified the various neighbourhood attributes; investigated the effects of neighbourhood factors that influence the choice of location in each residential zone; examined the perception of the users about the status of their neighbourhood and assessed the users’ willingness to stay longer and pay for accommodation. The target populations are the seventy-six thousand, seven hundred and forty (76,740) residential property users within the selected neighbourhoods in Ibadan, twenty-six (26) Professional Estate Agents and sixty-two (62) Informal Estate Agents in Ibadan. Structured close-ended questionnaires were designed to elicit information from the property users and agents respectively. Three hundred and ninety eight (398) represents the sampling frame for ±5% precision for residential property users, while twenty-six(26) and sixty-two(62) represent sampling frame for the professional estate agents and the informal agents respectively. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency tables, pie chart and weighted mean score) and inferential statistics (binary logistic regression). Findings revealed that based on comparative neighbourhood densities, choice of residential locations is significantly influenced by distance to work place (– 1.620), rental value of property (0.00), flood control (– 3.408), nearness to shopping centre(2.716), nearness store creation centre (–2.389), nearness to children’s school (– 17.200), distance to place of worship (1.755), nearness to police station (4.110), access to portable water (8.416), and noise tolerance (7.797), at either p < .05 or p < 1. Also, willingness to pay rent is influenced generally by the relationship of the tenant to his neighbourhood, age, occupation and marital status; while willingness to stay longer depends on occupation, marital status, tenure and choice of residential location. The study recommended that Estate Surveyors and Valuers should be involved in implementing urban policies as they interact regularly with the populace in property development, lettings, sales and mortgage of properties, in order to achieve a better end-user friendly neighbourhood. Above all, based on the observed cases, there is need for the mobilization of resources, socio-economic interventions, regional planning and other essential elements of urban maintenance and growth, which must be incorporated into residential development. Government therefore, (as a major stakeholder) need to provide beneficial neighbourhood characters for its citizenry.