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The paper tries to compare the qualitative difference between professional and pragmatic design solutions in self-built houses. Self-built houses are defined here as permanently constructed houses in urban context, generally used as the primary shelter of the users belonging to middle income group, and most likely to be constructed under own informal management and own investment. The study starts with the question why pragmatic solutions seem to be more effective than professional decisions in self-built houses, even though state regulations try to engage architects in housing decisions. This study adopts ethnographic method to find the implicit reasons behind pragmatic decisions during initial as well as different stages of transformations in the houses, and suggests how professional decisions might become more effective when it is molded with the subjective values of users. It also suggests that knowing these values can be one basic way to bring architects closer to these users, and let architects play social as well as professional role in a field which has not been explored much by architectural practitioners throughout architectural history.

It has been said that people's expectation towards their living space has been increased. They have a higher requirement not only for the facilities it provides, but also for the quality of property management services. Property management is now regarded as one of the important considerations of buyers in purchasing a property. This research paper aims to investigate the significance of the quality of property management to property buyers.

ISO 9001 Certification and HKMA Quality Award (HKMAQA) are used as the measurement of the quality of property management. The paper used a hedonic price model to determine whether there is a relationship between property management and property price and the inference of property management on property price if there is such relationship. Seven private residential estates in Ma On Shan with similar locational characteristics were selected in the research.

The empirical results show that property management has a significant and positive relationship with property prices. People are willing to pay 4.92 percent and 2.84 percent more on properties managed by a property management company that is ISO 9001‐certified and HKMAQA winner respectively.

The implications of the results imply that well‐recognized property management increases the value of a property and attracts second‐hand property buyers, and quality property management adds value to properties and hence increases the property price.

The research has contributed an indication of the amount a household would be willing to pay on quality property management services as a reference for investors, users, developers and property management services providers.