Homebuyer choices and search behaviour in a distressed urban setting

Buyers purchase homes in Cleveland, Ohio, because visible neighbourhood qualities, structural attributes and neighbourhood amenities are appealing. How they perceive their housing and their neighbourhoods tends to vary with income, education, previous tenure and their type of employment. Their perceptions are confounded, however, by their race, the presence of school age children, their previous place of residence, work location and time expected to reside in the house. Neighbourhood familiarity and locational convenience are also key components in the homebuyer's decision process. Moreover, few higher income homebuyers anticipate remaining in their homes for more than four years. Because their work orientation is outside the downtown, future housing purchases may similarly occur outside the city. To the extent that there is a slackening in the purchasing of housing units in the central city by higher income households, housing market and neighbourhood stability are likely to deteriorate.