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This study explores the characteristics of a particular vernacular architecture, which is known as terraced housing. Terraced housing can be found in many different mountainous parts of the world such as the mountainous regions of Bahrain, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Greece, Italy and Japan, which have different environmental and cultural characteristics, and which were built in response to human needs according to the particular topographical conditions. Amongst the examples mentioned, Iranian terraced housing remains distinctive with its local richness and variation, constructed and designed according to the topography of the region. Accordingly the general overview of Iranian vernacular architecture and form is examined by focusing on the environmental factors of two specific Iranian villages.

The identification of these villages is evaluated according to the topography, climate, urban pattern and spatial organization of Iranian terraced settlements. As a consequence, the analysis of case studies and data processing will enable decision makers, planners, architects and designers to become more aware of the existing architectural building tradition. The contemporary housing design problems can be solved by employing an appropriate method of design and building construction with reference to the present vernacular housing stock.

The first paper, entitled “Crime and the design of residential property: exploring the theoretical background” (Property Management, Vol. 19 No. 2), has argued that “perceptions” and the “image” of housing designs remain a largely untested avenue of investigation in the design‐effects‐crime debate. Presents and discusses exploratory research into the perception of crime/deviancy, fear of crime and “defensible space”, in relation to a range of characteristic UK housing designs. This investigation concerns the perceptions of planning professionals, convicted burglars and other users and provides both qualitative and quantitative analysis of results from a series of interviews which presented slide representations of terraced, semi‐detached and detached housing designs in addition to low‐rise/walk‐up flats and high‐rise flats. Where possible, two contrasting versions of the same design were presented to probe the influence of “image” in the perception of crime and “defensible space”. The results from this exploratory investigation underpin Newman’s theory of “defensible space” in that a “hierarchy of place” appears to exist with regard to housing designs. However, the “image” of each design is perceived to be a significant contributing factor in relation to the criminogenic capacity of each design presented. Wilson and Kelling’s “Broken Windows” theory is also supported by these research findings.

Externalization that became prominent in 1980s with the globalization brought along dramatic changes in social and spatial areas. The social, cultural and economic events that took place on an international level thanks to globalization made the impact of change felt which was reflected on the urban space and, therefore, on the house, resulting in an increase in the importance of the residential sector. Externalization and developed economic structure enabled more investments into houses which introduced a concept of housing populated in urban fringes starting from the city centers. The housing concept which was shaped by the impacts of the urban transformation after 1980 turned into a new emerging lifestyle in Istanbul in 2000s. Accordingly, the study aims to establish the position of housing in Istanbul and new meanings formed by the socio-cultural changes. In this sense, housing before and after 1980, globalization, gentrification, urban transformation, spatial segregation, socio-economic and cultural aspects were discussed based on the structural benchmarks, and 4 different housing forms, namely the “Loft”, “Residence”, “Terraced House”, and “Gated Communities”, with individual structural examples. This study, thus, aims to question the form of tenancy of these houses created through varying concepts and concerns today. The results obtained showed that the housing as an indicator of cultural life in Istanbul has turned into a lifestyle that is shaped by similar aspects and commercial concern, despite different approaches or production forms, eliminating the traces of the cultural life of the society.

In 2016 all new houses in England and Wales must be zero carbon. To date most work in zero carbon housing has been carried out on detached family housing typologies. Practice has shown that one of the overriding factors in the struggle to achieve zero carbon status (Code for Sustainable Homes Level 6) is the projected significant increase in construction cost. While grant funding can offset some of this increase, further costs savings will be required to allow developers to deliver affordable homes within reasonable profit margins. One result of this will be a reduction in design quality; which will impact on the quality of the spaces provided and the robustness and longevity of the construction and finishes. In order to deliver better design standards, higher density attached family housing models should be considered to ensure that a proportion of the projected increase in cost of the building fabric can be transferred to the internal volume of the house, thus achieving better quality living spaces. The following paper reviews the context for future housing provision in the UK and examines two existing medium density terraced housing developments. The existing examples reflect two contrasting approaches: one derived from low-energy principles utilising minimum space standards, the other reflecting the need for high quality spaces but at premium cost. A new medium density terrace model is proposed that deals with these conflicting demands to demonstrate that it is possible to provide affordable, high quality, higher density, family housing whilst meeting low energy targets.

House price-to-rent (P-t-R) ratios are among the most widely used measures of housing market conditions. Given the theoretical and apparent bidirectional, causal relationships and imbalances between the housing market, broader economy and financial market determinants, it is important to understand the relationship between macro- and micro-economic characteristics in relation to the P-t-R ratio to enhance the understanding of housing market dynamics. This paper studies the joint dynamics and persistence of house prices and rents and examines the temporal interactions of the P-t-R ratio and economic and financial determinants.

The authors examine the lead–lag relationships between the P-t-R ratios and a spectrum of macroeconomic variables using cointegration and causality methods, initially at the aggregate position and also across housing types within the Northern Ireland housing market to establish whether there are subtle differences in how various housing segments react to changes in economic activity and market fundamentals.

The findings reveal price switching dynamics and some very distinct long- and short-run relationships between macroeconomic and financial indicators and the P-t-R ratios across the various housing segments. The results exhibit monetary supply, foreign exchange markets and the stock market to be important drivers of the P-t-R ratio, with P-t-R movements seemingly tied, or are in tandem, with the overall economy, particularly with the construction sector.

The study shows that the P-t-R ratio can be used as an early measure for establishing the effects of macroprudential policy changes and how these may manifest across housing tiers and quality, which can further act as a signal for preventing or at least mitigating future irrational price cyclicity. These insights serve to inform housing and economic policy and macroprudential policy design, principally within lending policy and the effect of regulatory interventions and further enhance the understanding of the P-t-R ratio on housing market structure and dynamics.

This study is the first in the housing literature that examines the causal relationships between the P-t-R ratio and macroeconomic activity at the sub-market level. It investigates whether and how money supply, inflation, foreign exchange markets, general economic productivity and other important macroeconomic factors interact with the pricing of different property types over time.

Sustainable and resilient infrastructure projects aim to reduce flooding impacts and improve community adaptability. For instance, flood-resistant stilts elevate structures, mitigating flood damage. Comprehensive consideration is crucial when adding elements to housing projects, incurring costs for all involved parties. This study aims to assess the viability of concrete stilts for cost-effective flood mitigation in Malaysian terrace housing.

The study evaluates cost implications through a comparative 5D building information modeling (BIM) cost analysis of stilted and conventional (standard) housing models. This assesses the percentage increase in total cost. Furthermore, a survey of construction professionals was undertaken. The study used online convenience and stratified sampling techniques. Out of the 222 emails that were sent, 27 construction professionals located in Johor, Sabah and Selangor within Malaysia participated in the research survey. Their perspectives on stilt housing prospects and factors for costing such structures were analyzed through a descriptive analysis using SPSS.

The case study models revealed that the incorporation of stilts could lead to a 21.64% increase in the overall cost per unit. This cost increase was primarily attributed to the additional reinforcement required. However, the survey findings highlighted that a majority of construction professionals perceived the cost increment to fall within the range of 10%–20%. Consequently, it becomes imperative to meticulously consider cost factors such as foundational requirements, staircases, and the extended construction duration to effectively curtail expenditures. The prospect of heightened costs potentially posing a threat to profit margins and discouraging developers necessitates careful financial management. Notwithstanding these challenges, the survey's insights underscored that professionals in the construction industry indeed recognize the potential of stilt technology in the realm of flood mitigation and management, particularly within housing projects.

This research has significant practical implications. It provides a precise financial contrast between housing categories using 5D BIM and incorporates construction experts’ viewpoints on raised housing. Enhanced design considerations for raised housing can make it economically viable, offering a cost-effective, nature-based approach to flood mitigation. This approach can bring substantial benefits to residents by reducing flood-related damages and enhancing community resilience.

One of the notable aspects of this research is its originality. It uses a dual quantitative methodology involving modeling and survey techniques to address its objectives effectively. This approach contributes significantly to the relatively limited body of research focused on stilt housing and the application of 5D BIM. By combining these methodologies, the study explores a relatively uncharted area, making a valuable contribution to the field.

This study aims to introduce the results of a research carried out to develop a prototype of a highly energy-efficient modular detached house, called CASA+ CASA means HOUSE in spanish, adapted to the climatic features of central-southern Chile. The project enables a sustainable alternative to facilitate the reconstruction of the residential areas after the impact of the 2010 earthquake.

The methodology is based on an “integrated design process” of a case study that proposes a constructive response that quantitatively and qualitatively improves the initial data of traditional dwellings. The characteristics of the new system have been simulated with specific software to validate the final decisions, considering the cost–benefit ratio.

Simulation tools were used to assess and improve the system’s energy performance with respect to present options and to analyse its economic and construction viability. We obtained several economically competitive housing prototypes that substantially reduced energy consumption and the CO₂ footprint by between 20% and 80%.

The prototype has not been developed, as we are waiting for funding, but all its energy features have been simulated.

Furthermore, this experience also identified similar modifications made to the design of the houses, which revealed general possibilities for improving energy performance.

The origin of this research is a public call for international researchers to improve the quality of the new homes to be built in Chile after the strong earthquake of 2010. The result of the research has been put at the direct service of Chilean society and in other international projects for the construction of low-energy social housing.

These are the result of a long research aimed at establishing a new architectural model that, in addition to improving the architectural quality of the product, obtains significant improvements in energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. The most particular aspect is the practical vocation and its implementation with real construction with the support of construction companies.

The paper aims to describe, construct, and compare alternative price indices for real estate in Malta over the period 1980‐2010.

The paper utilises the technique of hedonic regression analysis to construct four hedonic price indices. One of the constructed indices is based the unconstrained hedonic methodology. Two other indices are variants of the constrained hedonic technique, while the fourth consists of an imputed hedonic index. The hedonic indices are then compared to other 12 conventional indices, namely the Laspeyres, Paasche and Fisher indices (constant weight and chain linked) that are constructed by utilizing the mean and median house prices pertaining to 14 different types of houses.

All indices are found to move closely together, growing between six and seven times between 1980 and 2010. The average annual compound growth rate of the 16 indices was found to be 6.5126 percent. The paper also shows how the estimated hedonic coefficients can be used to construct regional price indices for different combinations of housing characteristics.

The paper builds on previous work related to house prices in Malta. Its main contribution is the construction of hedonic indices that are based on advertised prices that span over a relatively long period of 31 years, together with the construction of constant weight and chain linked Laspeyres, Paasche and Fisher indices.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse and predict the housing prices in Petaling district, Malaysia and its six sub-regions with a set of housing attributes using functional relationship model.

A new multiple unreplicated linear functional relationship model with both the response and explanatory variables are subject to errors is proposed. A total of 41,750 housing transacted records from November 2008 to February 2016 were used in this study. These data were divided into 70% training and 30% testing sets for each of the selected sub-regions. Individual housing price was regressed on nine housing attributes.

The results showed the proposed model has better fitting ability and prediction accuracy as compared to the hedonic model or multiple linear regression. The proposed model achieved at least 20% and 40% of predictions that have less than 5% and 10% deviations from the actual transacted housing prices, respectively. House buyers in these sub-regions showed similar preferences on most of the housing attributes, except for residents in Shah Alam who preferred to stay far away from shopping malls, and leasehold houses in Sri Kembangan are more valuable. From the h-nearest houses indicator, it is concluded that the housing market in Sungai Buloh is the most volatile in Petaling District.

As the data used are the actual housing transaction records in Petaling District, it represents only a segment of Malaysian urban population. The result will not be generalized to the entire Malaysian population.

This study is expected to provide insights to policymakers, property developers and investors to understand the volatility of the housing market and the influence of determinants in different sub-regions. The potential house buyers could also use the model to determine if a house is overpriced.

This study introduces measurement errors into the housing attributes to provide a more reliable analysis tool for the housing market. This study is the first housing research in Malaysia that used a large number of actual housing transaction records. Previous studies relied on small survey samples.

The purpose of this paper is to measure the long-run housing affordability of Malaysia over time for households at various income levels and to demonstrate how short- and long-run affordability measures can reach contradicting conclusions.

In this study, a long-run housing affordability index (HAI) for Malaysia was constructed for the sample period 1995 to 2014, using data from house prices and household incomes. The HAI was also modified to compute a mortgage affordability index (MAI) to account for intergenerational transfers.

The results show that households at the 25th income percentile cannot afford any of the four dwelling types in Malaysia. For households at the 40th income percentile and the median income levels, high-rise and terrace housing are affordable. However, significant downward trends in HAI and MAI are documented beginning 2009, which indicates increasing housing stress for households at or below the median income. The short-run affordability measure represented by the median multiple (MM) indicator showed bleaker conclusion for housing affordability, with all dwelling types considered unaffordable over the entire sample period

On the basis of the empirical results, this paper provided several long-term proposals to ameliorate the housing affordability problem in Malaysia.

With the MM ratio being the official affordability measure reported for Malaysia, this study introduces the nation’s first long-run housing affordability measure. It is hoped that this long-run measure will achieve widespread adoption in Malaysia. Given the deteriorating long-term affordability, this study offers several possible long-term solutions.