Socio-Economic Characteristics of Households Determining Housing Satisfaction in Bauchi Metropolis, Bauchi State, Nigeria

Life satisfaction and housing quality are inextricably linked, and socio-economic factors have an impact on both. Low income families in poor quality housing thus bearing the impact of income-related deficits with housing satisfaction. There is potential call for lower-income families to make more frequent housing adjustment in order to be content with less-than-ideal living conditions. In Bauchi, it has been observed that socio-economic characteristics of an individual translates into his earning, thereby influences his choice of location and housing satisfaction. This study's goal was to determine examining the impact of socio-economic characteristics of households on housing satisfaction in the study area. The study employed a quantitative methodology descriptive survey. 380 household heads received a questionnaire, of which 258 were recouped and used for data analysis. Households were surveyed employing stratified random sampling to gather data on the socio-economic characteristics of the households and satisfaction with environmental and physical characteristics. To determine the symbolic importance of the various elements, the gathered questionnaire was subjected to ordinal regression and descriptive statistics. According to the research findings, household’s satisfaction is correlated with their housing. There is significant link between socio-economic indicators and households’ housing satisfaction in the study area. The socio-economic factors in the study area that had a significant impact on housing satisfaction were gender and farming as a form of occupation. The government was advised to build the social facilities that are needed, repair the ones that are in bad shape, and implement the development control requirements as soon as possible

Causes of Valuation Inaccuracy in Mortgage Lending in Ethiopia

This study aims to add to the scarce empirical literature on mortgage valuation by ranking the variables that make inaccurate mortgage valuations. Given the central role, valuation plays in lending, high valuation inaccuracy leads to major market distortions in real estate with potentially harmful financial system repercussions. Thus, this study is envisioned to investigate the causes of valuation inaccuracy for mortgage purpose in commercial banks in Ethiopia. To achieve this objective, the study employed a convergent parallel mixed design. Data were collected from valuers through questionnaires and interviews using purposive, snowball, and convenience sampling techniques. To investigate the impact of the factors on valuation inaccuracy, an ordinal regression model was used. The study revealed that inappropriate valuation methods, the inadequacy of the market data, and property market imperfection were the most significant predictors. However, there are moderately significant causes which include the characteristics of the property market, valuation regulatory framework, and absence of the valuation standard. Client pressure, ethics, and competence of valuers were insignificant predictors. This paper recommends that the government should establish a government agency that is independent and in charge of valuation regulation, developing legal frameworks, and intervening in the property market. Based on the framework valuers should use an appropriate valuation method. Moreover, there should be an establishment of central databases that valuers relied on

Exploring the Condition of Wards in Malaysia Hospital Buildings

Hospital buildings condition necessitated the findings of this study especially the state of the wards in the hospital buildings. The objective of this study is to examine the conditions of the wards in the hospital buildings, and proffer recommendations to various stakeholders for enhancement. A quantitative approach was used where the condition of the hospital wards was ranked respectively by the participants were physicians, psychologists, dentists, veterinarians, medical doctors, medical officers, nurses, and other hospital buildings professional users constitute the sample stratum. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 was used to analyse the data; descriptive and inferential such as reliability, validity, and ranking. The salient finding is that polluted ventilation, faulty ceiling lamps, faulty fire alarms, faulty wall (wall finishes/painting) and faulty window handles, were the condition of wards that were ranked highest (slightly bad) and merely affected. This implies that there is the need to use a better maintenance management approach to avert further decline in the condition of the hospital wards. Also, the research findings states that hospital buildings conditions and components of wards could be in the good state at all times using a holistic approach that will reduce more wards component depreciations for quality services outputs for the users. The wards conditions in the hospital buildings could be greatly improved by using proper strategies and maintenance management plans. Most of the studies about hospital building wards had focused on thermal comfort, but there is a paucity of studies that investigate the hospital buildings' condition of wards with low number in respondent active participation. Despite the constant rise in maintenance costs, there are numerous complaints and critiques of hospital buildings reported in the media. The lack of proper consideration for maintenance management and weaknesses in Malaysia hospitals has led to the deterioration of hospital buildings and reduced healthcare services. The study was being able to highlight some beneficial qualities and were also highlights some weaknesses of wards condition in the Malaysian hospital buildings which can tentatively be curtailed so users can be comfortable and satisfied

A Bibliometric Review of Research Trends in Facilities Management Technologies from 2000 to 2023

Technologies such as building management systems, building information modelling, computer aided design, virtual reality, internet of things, geographic information systems and robotics have been adopted to achieve effective Facilities Management (FM). However, little attempt has been made to map global research trends in FM technologies. This paper presents a bibliometric review on the application of technology in FM with the aim of determining research trends and gaps in this research area. A total of 107 publications on FM technologies from 2000 to 2023 were reviewed. The analysis was done with the VOSviewer software (version 1.6.13). The analysis focused on bibliographic coupling of countries, co-authorship of authors, citation of documents, and co-occurrence of keywords, which were presented as network visualization maps. The findings revealed that the publication trends in FM technologies have been upwards since 2000, although not completely gradient. Italy, United States, Mainland China, South Korea, Australia, United Kingdom, Sweden, China Taiwan, Canada, and Malaysia are the countries that have had great impact in this research area. Both the keywords and documents citation analysis revealed three distinct phases in the evolution of FM technologies research – energy efficiency technologies, BIM technologies, and advanced BIM technologies/internet of things. It also became evident that Africa lags in this area of research. This study helps to determine the range of technologies used for managing facilities and how such technologies have evolved. This can help facilities managers to become familiar with the current and cutting-edge technologies that could promote effective and efficient FM. Only one data source - Scopus - was used. Therefore, the representation of publications presented in this study are limited. However, the findings contribute to the body of knowledge in FM technologies

Factors Affecting Design toward Affordable Sustainable Housing Delivery in South African Construction Industry

The purpose of this study is to establish the factors that affect the design toward affordable sustainable housing delivery because housing is delivered above budget and unaffordable for low-income earners in South Africa. A sequential mixed method involving qualitative and quantitative approach was engaged for this study, and construction professionals were selected as respondents from nine provinces of South Africa to answer four points Likert scale quantitative questionnaires. A total of one hundred and fourteen (114) questionnaires were appropriately completed and retrieved from the respondents. Data collected were analyzed with descriptive statistics which include PCA, correlation, and regression analysis tools on SPSS version 25 to determine factors that affect the design with the regards to affordable housing delivery in South Africa, interview process is used to validate the findings obtained. The findings indicated that improper design leads to failure in achieving client objectives and causes a change in design and demolition. Lack of design of first-rate living conditions for a healthy environment, design sufficiency, and adaptability to meet people’s demand for cost efficient housing were the major factors responsible for unaffordable housing in South Africa. The study recommended that government should establish key policies on housing design to control resource waste and limit construction costs within budget. This will encourage the sensitivity of construction operators about resources control at the planning and implementation stages of housing production

The Relationship between the Maintenance Management Problems and the Maintenance Performance of High-Rise Residential Buildings

Building maintenance is the practice to retain the property habitable and functioning as it is designed for. However, the effectiveness of maintenance management appears to be the issue in housing context. Many maintenance management problems still exist up to date. They are likely to influence the service quality and resident satisfaction. Therefore, the objective of this research is to establish the relationship between the maintenance management problems and the maintenance performance. The research adopted quantitative approach to achieve the research aim. The approach comprised of literature review, questionnaire survey using google form that included both close-ended and open-ended questions. Based on the literature review, fourteen (14) maintenance management problems of high-rise residential buildings are identified. From the correlation analysis result, two (2) significance correlations are determined. The maintenance budget overrun is significantly correlated with the ratio of actual maintenance spent to planned maintenance cost (cost variance) of high-rise residential building, and a significant correlation occurs between unavailability of spare parts and ratio of actual to planned maintenance downtime (equipment effectiveness) of high-rise residential building. Besides, the opinions and strategies on solving the maintenance management problems were provided, including educating the residents about the Strata Management Act 2013, selecting qualified maintenance contractor, outsourcing the maintenance services, implementation of preventive maintenance (PM), hiring specialist to perform special maintenance work, providing training for maintenance staffs, formulating the building maintenance regulation, ensuring transparency of financial account, and setting up maintenance policy

A Study on Reconstruction of Condominium in the Metropolitan Area Using Real Estate Data

In Japan, there is concern about the impact of the growing stock of older condominiums on the buildings themselves and the surrounding environment, and immediate action is needed. While in other countries, repair, elimination, and retirement of aged condominiums are the mainstream methods, in Japan, reconstruction is sometimes used. This study proposes a new decision criterion using discriminant analysis to address the problem of the difficulty and long time required to build consensus for rebuilding older condominiums. Discriminant analysis used building attributes and other variables to differentiate and predict condominium properties that have been successfully reconstructed from those that were not. Simple and clear answers will enable non-expert judgment and aid in consensus building. Multiple discriminant formulas were obtained and compared for Tokyo and neighbouring cities, as well as by subdividing and adding up these subdivisions. At the same time, coefficients of variables were changed or added to increase the reliability of the equations. As a result, a new modified discriminant equation with a high degree of reliability that advances previous studies was obtained. In addition, through the process of creating the formula, we discovered a new option for determining whether or not to rebuild based on whether or not there is an excess floor-area ratio, which is generally considered to be the solution in Japan, by increasing the site area

Assessment of Residential Real Estate Investment Performance in Lafia Metropolis, Nigeria

Investors are expected to be guided through investment performance measurement and analysis in order to safeguard against potential loss of investment returns or the capital invested. Whereas residential real estate (RRE) constitutes a significant part of the portfolios of individual and institutional investors across the globe, the assessment of risk-return performance of RRE investment in Nigeria generally has not been well researched. Investors in real estate (RE) in the Lafia city of Nasarawa State, like other cities in Nigeria, still rely on mere intuition, sales comparison and the rule of thumb in real estate investment decisions-making. Consequently, these ill-informed investors often venture into poorly conceived and subsequently financially disastrous real estate investment projects thereby failing to achieve their desired investment objectives. Hence, this research was conducted to evaluate the performances of RRE investment in Lafia metropolis of north-central Nigeria with a view to guiding existing and potential real estate investors and practitioners in the region in making informed property investment decision. A survey research design was adopted to collect transacted residential property value data from estate surveying and valuation firms as well as reputable estate agent offices in the study area. Mean scores, property value index and holding period return model were used to analyse the rental/capital value indices and total return performance respectively. The modified value-at-risk model was used to assess risk while the modified Sharpe ratio was used to evaluate the risk-return performance of RRE investment performance in the study area. The research findings revealed, among others, a progressive increase in rental and capital values of RRE within the study period. RRE investment showed an average rental growth of 6.8% per annum and capital value growth of 9.4% per annum. On the basis of investment returns, it was found that Angwan Doka outperformed other selected neighbourhoods in the study area with an average mean total return and risk-adjusted return of 13.76% and 0.80% per annum respectively while Shabu underperformed other locations with average mean total return and risk-adjusted return of 12.17% and 0.55% per annum. The study recommended, among others, that potential real estate investors should consider investing in residential real estate in Angwan Doka since this location gives higher total and risk-adjusted returns on residential property investment relative to other locations in the city

Local Governance Structures and Their Role in Mobilising Community Action: A Case of Recreational Facilities in Mining Towns in the Copperbelt Province

This paper explores the role of local governance structures at community level in mobilising community action in the redevelopment of recreational facilities in former mine townships in the Copperbelt Province. These facilities are experiencing a management quandary resulting from the privatisation of the mining conglomerate, ZCCM, in the late 1990s. This paper argues that every society has a way of reorganising itself when such vacuums in management occur. Growing literature places this research agenda within “self-organising”, “co-production”, “self-managing”, etc. Underpinning these self-organising processes are local governance structures devised by communities themselves, which include various actors being involved in the decision making and management processes for community development. In modern societies, the role of these structures is often underplayed and only realised when a vacuum appears in the management as is the case for formerly mine-owned recreational facilities in Copperbelt towns. A multi-case study approach was adopted in this mixed method research to determine the communities’ ability to regenerate the dilapidated recreation centres. The research found that the communities had the social capital required to drive the regeneration process, exhibited by the benevolence shown to each other, the willingness to participate in activities at the recreation centres and the availability of self-organising associations. Additionally, the local structures were able to self-organise and participate in decision making and management required for successful community development

Impact of Movement Control Order on Risk-Adjusted Performance of the Malaysian Real Estate Investment Trusts (M-REITs)

The first Movement Control Order (MCO) implemented by the Malaysian government from 18th March 2020 to 3rd May 2020 was unprecedented. Since Malaysia was only mildly affected by previous epidemics or pandemics unlike the COVID-19, studies of the pandemic impact on the performance of Malaysian firms and M-REITs in specific were limited. To close this gap, this study compares Sharpe ratio, Treynor ratio and Jensen Alpha ratio of 18 M-REITs for sub-periods before, during and after the MCO. Paired sample t-test results for all these three risk-adjusted performance measures consistently show that M-REITs significantly performed better during the MCO compared to before the MCO as well as after the MCO compared to before the MCO. The results suggest that the business model and portfolio of real estate managed by M-REITs are resilient against both systematic and unsystematic risk factors, and imply that the intrinsic value of M-REITs is not significantly affected by the market uncertainty caused by movement restriction. The findings also bolster investors’ confidence to include M-REITs as part of their diversified investment portfolio to achieve sustainable return performance in the post-Covid period. To remain resilient and sustainable, the management of M-REITs should diversify the portfolio of properties and real estate they managed since the movement restriction had varying repercussions on different types of real estate. Rooms for further diversification are justified by a larger percentage of M-REITs having positive Treynor ratios after the MCO sub-period if compared to positive Sharpe ratios. A well-diversified portfolio managed by an M-REIT can reduce unsystematic risk, which is part of the total risk measured by standard deviation, eventually moving towards a positive Sharpe ratio