Stated Preferences for Sustainable Housing Development in Germany-A Latent Class Analysis

Despite enormous progress made in the resource-efficient housing construction as a result of technical innovation, market share of sustainable new housing development in Germany is still very low. There is a need for a demand-driven research approach to determine and exploit the potential for sustainable housing among private home buyers-the principal consumers of new housing in Germany. This study measures the preferences of German home buyers based on stated preferences survey data through the application of a discrete choice experiment. Using latent class analysis, the article identifies market segments of differing "environmental awareness" and corresponding preference heterogeneity. The results point to a latent demand for sustainable housing alternatives among private home buyers in Germany.