A Study on the Growth and Formation of Single Person Households and Their Housing Decisions in Taiwan
Author
Start Page / End Page
Volume
Issue Number
Year
Publication
Li-Min Hsueh, Gi-Hsian Lin, Hsin-Yi Peng
130 / 158
14
2
2011
International Real Estate Review
Abstract
The number of single person households has dramatically increased in Taiwan in the past several decades as it has elsewhere in the world, but this phenomenon has been largely neglected in the literature. This research explores the factors that affect the formation of single person households and their housing decisions. Taiwanˇs population census data for 1980, 1990 and 2000 are used.
Some interesting trends can be found. First of all, people who are married or cohabiting have exhibited an increasing tendency to live alone census by census. This shows the increasing need in a modern society for the husband and wife to live separately due to employment or other reasons. Secondly, unmarried and widowed elderly persons have had an increasing probability of living alone over the decades. Thirdly, the number of female single person households has been increasing rapidly, and there is a higher probability that they are homeowners and also occupying a larger living space than their male counterparts.
To sum up, the results of this study show that the demand for housing among single person households will continue to increase as their numbers increase. Their demand for homeownership and living space are also increasing
