A Profile of Urban Owner-Occupied Residential Households’ Characteristics in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Abstract

The study sought to profile owner-occupied apartment households (based on selected demographic characteristics) in the residential housing market of Nairobi City County, Kenya using a descriptive cross-sectional design. The demographics of interest were: gender, age, marital status and education of home owner; size of family, income of household and level of household expenditure. Using cluster sampling and SMART methodology (2012) formulae, 226 households were sampled though 196 households participated in the study by filling and returning the questionnaire. The households were clustered into 2, 3 and 4 bedroomed owner-occupied apartments. To achieve the study objective, a comparison of demographic characteristics amongst the households was done using cross tabulation. The study found that: most of the apartment houses were owned by men; majority of the home owners fell in the 30-49 age bracket; the married owned most of the homes compared to the singles and divorced combined; most of the households had five to seven members while most households had a monthly income of sh. 190,000-209,999 compared to their monthly expenditure of averagely sh.100, 000. It was further established that more than 50% of the apartment home owners had a college education while a significant number had only secondary/high school education. The study documents implications of the study to housing policy makers and practitioners besides citing limitations which were encountered in conducting the study. Areas for further study were proposed in view of the study outcome.

Key Words: Demographics, Apartments, Housing Markets, Mobility and Home Owners.