Value of buildings with design features for healthy living: a contingent valuation approach

Purpose - After the outbreak of the disease of "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)" in Asia in 2003, a healthy living environment is a major concern. The purpose of this paper is to study the value of healthy building parameters by the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), which gives a direct appraisal of the occupants' value. Design/methodology/approach - Healthy building parameters were identified in previous studies. Questionnaires are distributed to residents of a large-scale high-rise private housing estate in Hong Kong to find out their willingness to pay (WTP) for individual healthy building parameters. Findings - The results suggest that most residents are willing to pay for healthy building parameters, each with a different value. Research limitations/implications - The paper is limited to studying the eight identified building parameters for healthy buildings. The sample of the study is confined in a private housing estate only and all the occupants are middle class citizens of Hong Kong. The results of the study can be further validated by carrying out similar research with the support of the government or quasi-government bodies to cover a larger sample size for a better return rate. Practical implications - The findings have practical implications on cost-and-benefit analysis of housing design. Originality/value - Housing price is commonly regarded as the total value of a bundle of housing quality and environmental characteristics. The implicit price of individual quality and characteristic is often identified by the hedonic pricing model. However, its validity depends on a lot of econometric assumptions. The study is the first to be conducted after the outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong to gauge the opinions of residents on health/economy issues