Determinants Of Housing Transformations In Public Housing Estates In Owerri Capital Territory Imo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The extant literature has shown that there has been an increase in housing transformations in public housing estates in developing countries like Nigeria. it is therefore important to understand what factors drive this phenomenon. This study investigated the relationship between the occurrence of physical changes in houses and multiple variables which influence housing transformation, in public housing estates in Owerri Capital Territory Imo State, Nigeria with the view to identifying the predictors of housing transformations in the study area.  The study draws on data gathered through a questionnaire survey of 309 residents in the study population. The variable in focus is ‘Any physical changes to the building’. Binary Probit multiple regression analysis tool was used for analysis because the dependent variable was a binary categorical variable. The results showed that the model containing the predictors represents a significant improvement in fit over an unconditional model with no predictors (df=22, Sig.= 0.000).  The following independent variables were found to have significant positive correlation with physical changes to the building: (i) Name of housing estate, (ii)Cost of monthly rentage, (iii) Number of persons in household, (iv) Perception of current design of the building, (v) Purpose for the physical changes to the building and environment, (vi) Present number of bathrooms, (vii) Availability of space for expansion in the compound, (viii) Time taken to respond to complaints, (ix) Frequency of Estate managers visits, (x) Plan approval before physical changes. The identification of these predictors provide clarity for stakeholders and policymakers as they implement strategies that would enhance transformations and improve housing quality.