When Buying Residential Property Young People Expect More Help from the State: Case of Slovenia

Abstract

The article presents partial results of a survey, which considered factors determining the decision-making and purchase of residential property from the perspective of young families. The main research objectives were to identify the young families’ ownership structure and their living situation, analyze the existing housing regulations and housing policies, compared with expectations of young families and to identify factors that are important from their perspective for the buying decision and the value of residential property. The focus of our study was a questionnaire consisting of three parts. The first one divided participants according to demographic data (gender, age, education, place of residence and socio-economic status), the second set consisted of an orderly residential status and prospects for solving the housing problem and the factors that influence their purchase decision, whereas the third set was tied to factors that, in their opinion affect the value of residential property. The survey included 203 young people in Slovenia aged 20 to 39 living in a family community with at least one child. The data collected were analysed through SPSS statistical software package. In this paper, we focus on the study identifying expectations of young families about the state aid in facilitating decisions to buy their own first residential property. As a starting point, we set the hypothesis that young families who do not have their own apartment/house consider that the state through regulatory measures (laws, rules, regulations, etc.) should facilitate the decision to purchase residential property. The hypothesis was confirmed through the analysis and at the same time it was recognized that young families widely believed this would not happen in time when they decide to purchase one. Hypothesis was further subdivided and examined in relation to demographic characteristics of the participants. We found that according to the demographic characteristics of the participants (age and education), there are statistically significant differences in opinion on the stimulus regulatory state measures to facilitate the purchase of residential property.