Home satisfaction may depend on its size compared to your neighbors' homes, according to new research from Iowa State University. The researcher found that people are more likely to be dissatisfied with their home if it is smaller than that of their neighbors. This study provides evidence that people care not only about the features of their home, but also about their relative position:how their home compares to that of their immediate neighbors.
For this study, the researcher analyzed data from more than 1,000 homes and their 10 closest neighbors to assess satisfaction. Most housing data tends to focus on housing units or people, not both. The model shows that those who live in the smallest house in their neighborhood are on average 5% more likely to report being dissatisfied with their unit than those who live in the largest house.
“The reason I look at size as opposed to other properties of the home is that size is easy to measure and compare,” said the researcher. “If size is important, there are probably many other housing characteristics that matter, such as the age of the housing stock or an architecturally outdated home – but it's more difficult to quantify those differences.”
