Technical Papers
Aug 7, 2024

Thermal Comfort–Based Differential Pricing for High-Rise Apartments in Hot and Humid Climates: A Multicriteria Decision-Making Approach

Publication: Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 30, Issue 4

Abstract

Amidst the prevailing subjective pricing paradigms for high-rise apartments in India, this paper advocates for a paradigm shift toward thermal comfort–based differential pricing, recognizing its pivotal role in influencing residents’ well-being in hot and humid climates and energy savings. Understanding the correlation between thermal comfort, floor level, and orientation can lead to implementing such pricing strategies. Three models are proposed through market surveys and simulations, incorporating thermal comfort and other existing market preferences using Hedonic regression and two models using the analytic hierarchy process. The comparison reveals that Model 1, based on buyers’ preferences, yields a 0.72% mean improvement in the total sale price, Model 2, focused on thermal comfort, sees a mean increase of 0.86%, and Model 3, incorporating both thermal comfort and buyer preferences, results in a mean increase of 2.22%. The study emphasizes the significance of a multicriteria-based pricing model for high-rise apartments with thermal comfort as the focus, highlighting its flexibility to accommodate diverse criteria and determine suitable differential prices by adjusting percentage priorities based on specific requirements.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

Data Availability Statement

Some or all data, models, or codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, such as simulation results, measured environmental data, MATLAB code for AHP, and regression analysis.

References

Aguirre, I., S. Cowan, and J. Vickers. 2010. “Monopoly price discrimination and demand curvature.” Am. Econ. Rev. 100: 1601–1615. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.100.4.1601.
Al-Omari, B., J. Farhat, and M. Ershaid. 2022. “Conjoint analysis: A research method to study patients’ preferences and personalize care.” J. Pers. Med. 12: 274. https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm12020274.
Ardeshiri, A., M. Ardeshiri, M. Radfar, and O. Hamidian Shormasty. 2016. “The values and benefits of environmental elements on housing rents.” Habitat Int. 55: 67–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2016.02.004.
Aziz, N. F., S. Sorooshian, and F. Mahmud. 2016. “MCDM-AHP method in decision makings.” ARPN J. Eng. Appl. Sci. 11: 7217–7220.
Beck, H. E., N. E. Zimmermann, T. R. McVicar, N. Vergopolan, A. Berg, and E. F. Wood. 2018. “Present and future Köppen–Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution.” Sci. Data 5: 180214. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.214.
Benson, E. D., J. L. Hansen, A. L. Schwartz Jr, and G. T. Smersh. 1998. “Pricing residential amenities: The value of a view.” J. Real Estate Finance Econ. 16: 55–73. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007785315925.
Bourassa, S. C., and V. S. Peng. 1999. “Hedonic prices and house numbers: The influence of Feng Shui.” Int. Real Estate Rev. 2: 79–93. https://doi.org/10.53383/100013.
Brandt, S., and W. Maennig. 2011. “Road noise exposure and residential property prices: Evidence from Hamburg.” Trans. Res. Part D: Trans. Environ. 16 (1): 23–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2010.07.008.
Brunauer, W., S. Lang, and N. Umlauf. 2013. “Modelling house prices using multilevel structured additive regression.” Stat. Modelling 13: 95–123. https://doi.org/10.1177/1471082X13475385.
Chan, E. H.-W., H.-M. So, B.-S. Tang, and W.-S. Wong. 2008. “Private space, shared space and private housing prices in Hong Kong: An exploratory study.” Habitat Int. 32: 336–348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2007.11.004.
Chau, K., V. Ma, and D. Ho. 2001. “The pricing of ‘Luckiness’ in the apartment market.” J. Real Estate Lit. 9: 29–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/10835547.2001.12090095.
Chen, Y., and M. Schwartz. 2015. “Differential pricing when costs differ: A welfare analysis.” RAND J. Econ. 46: 442–460. https://doi.org/10.1111/1756-2171.12091.
Conroy, S., A. Narwold, and J. Sandy. 2013. “The value of a floor: Valuing floor level in high-rise condominiums in San Diego.” Int. J. Hous. Mark. Anal. 6: 197–208. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHMA-01-2012-0003.
Dahal, R. P., R. K. Grala, J. S. Gordon, I. A. Munn, D. R. Petrolia, and J. R. Cummings. 2019. “A hedonic pricing method to estimate the value of waterfronts in the Gulf of Mexico.” Urban For. Urban Greening 41: 185–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2019.04.004.
Deng, K. K., J. Chen, Z. Lin, and X. Yang. 2022. “Differential selling strategies between investors and consumers: Evidence from the Chinese housing market.” J. Real Estate Res. 44: 80–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/08965803.2021.2008609.
de Palma, A., N. Picard, and P. Waddell. 2007. “Discrete choice models with capacity constraints: An empirical analysis of the housing market of the greater Paris region.” J. Urban Econ. 62: 204–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2007.02.007.
Dimitrova, A., and J. K. Bora. 2020. “Monsoon weather and early childhood health in India.” PLoS One 15: 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0231479.
Fung, Y. W., and W. L. Lee. 2014. “Development of price models for architectural and environmental quality for residential developments in Hong Kong.” Habitat Int. 44: 186–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2014.06.004.
Gustavsson, F., and S. Vahtola. 2014. “Pricing strategies in newly developed housing projects.” Master of Science Thesis. Dept. of Real Estate and Construction Management.
Hamid, A. H. M., F. Y. Pieng, and C. Gan. 2012. “A conjoint analysis of buyers’ preferences for residential property.” Int. Real Estate Rev. 15 (1): 73–105. https://doi.org/10.53383/100149.
Hannonen, M. 2020. “House price methodology: A practical overview. 16–51. Turku: Suomen E-painos Oy.
Hauber, A. B., J. M. González, C. G. M. Groothuis-Oudshoorn, T. Prior, D. A. Marshall, C. Cunningham, M. J. IJzerman, and J. F. P. Bridges. 2016. “Statistical methods for the analysis of discrete choice experiments: A report of the ISPOR conjoint analysis good research practices task force.” Value Health 19: 300–315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jval.2016.04.004.
Holm, D., and F. A. Engelbrecht. 2005. “Practical choice of thermal comfort scale and range in naturally ventilated buildings in South Africa.” J. South Afr. Inst. Civ. Eng. 47: 9–14.
Hui, E. C. M., J. W. Zhong, and K. H. Yu. 2012. “The impact of landscape views and storey levels on property prices.” Landscape Urban Plann. 105: 86–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2011.12.002.
Jim, C. Y., and W. Y. Chen. 2009. “Value of scenic views: Hedonic assessment of private housing in Hong Kong.” Landscape Urban Plann. 91: 226–234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2009.01.009.
Jung, C., N. Al Qassimi, N. S. Abdelaziz Mahmoud, and S. Y. Lee. 2022. “Analyzing the housing consumer preferences via analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.” Behav. Sci. 12: 327. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs12090327.
Krolage, C. 2023. “The effect of real estate purchase subsidies on property prices.” Int. Tax Public Finance 30: 215–246. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-022-09726-0.
Liang, X., Y. Liu, T. Qiu, Y. Jing, and F. Fang. 2018. “The effects of locational factors on the housing prices of residential communities: The case of Ningbo, China.” Habitat Int. 81: 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2018.09.004.
Lu, J. 2018. “The value of a south-facing orientation: A hedonic pricing analysis of the Shanghai housing market.” Habitat Int. 81: 24–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2018.09.002.
McCord, M., D. Lo, J. McCord, P. Davis, M. Haran, and P. Turley. 2022. “The impact of COVID-19 on house prices in Northern Ireland: Price persistence, yet divergent?” J. Property Res. 39: 237–267. https://doi.org/10.1080/09599916.2021.2023610.
Obeidat, M. S., T. Qasim, and A. Khanfar. 2018. “Implementing the AHP multi-criteria decision approach in buying an apartment in Jordan.” J. Property Res. 35: 53–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/09599916.2017.1413588.
Owusu-Ansah, A. 2013. “A review of hedonic pricing models in housing research.” A Compend. Int. Real Estate Constr. Issues 1: 17–38.
Picard, N., A. De Palma, and S. Dantan. 2013. “Intra-household discrete choice models of mode choice and residential location.” Int. J. Transp. Econ 40: 419–445.
Pourteimouri, P., G. H. P. Campmans, K. M. Wijnberg, and S. J. M. H. Hulscher. 2022. “A numerical study on the impact of building dimensions on airflow patterns and bed morphology around buildings at the beach.” J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 10: 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10010013.
Rajesh, R., and D. P. Rath. 2023. “House price convergence: Evidence from India.” Asia-Pac. J. Reg. Sci. 7: 721–747. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41685-023-00285-8.
Rosato, P., M. Breil, C. Giupponi, and R. Berto. 2017. “Assessing the impact of urban improvement on housing values: A hedonic pricing and multi-attribute analysis model for the historic centre of Venice.” Buildings 7: 112. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings7040112.
Saaty, R. W. 1987. “The analytic hierarchy process—What it is and how it is used.” Math. Modell. 9: 161–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/0270-0255(87)90473-8.
Sharma, M. R., and S. Ali. 1986. “Tropical summer index—A study of thermal comfort of Indian subjects.” Build. Environ. 21: 11–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/0360-1323(86)90004-1.
Tahbaz, M. 2011. “Psychrometric chart as a basis for outdoor thermal analysis TT.” Int. J. Archit. Eng. 21: 95–109.
Tsai, I.-C. 2018. “Housing price convergence, transportation infrastructure and dynamic regional population relocation.” Habitat Int. 79: 61–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2018.07.004.
Völckner, F., and H. Sattler. 2005. “Separating negative and positive effects of price with choice-based conjoint analyses.” Mark. ZFP 27: 5–13. https://doi.org/10.15358/0344-1369-2005-jrm-1-5-1.
Wang, B. 2022. “Housing market volatility under COVID-19: Diverging response of demand in luxury and low-end housing markets.” Land Use Policy 119: 106191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106191.
Wang, L., G. Wang, H. Yu, and F. Wang. 2022. “Prediction and analysis of residential house price using a flexible spatiotemporal model.” J. Appl. Econ. 25: 503–522. https://doi.org/10.1080/15140326.2022.2045466.
Wen, H., Y. Zhang, and L. Zhang. 2015. “Assessing amenity effects of urban landscapes on housing price in Hangzhou, China.” Urban For. Urban Greening 14: 1017–1026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2015.09.013.
Wong, S. K., K. W. Chau, Y. Yau, and A. K. C. Cheung. 2011. “Property price gradients: The vertical dimension.” J. Hous. Built Environ. 26: 33–45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10901-010-9203-8.
Xiao, Y., E. C. M. Hui, and H. Wen. 2019. “Effects of floor level and landscape proximity on housing price: A hedonic analysis in Hangzhou, China.” Habitat Int. 87: 11–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2019.03.008.
Zhang, L. 2014. “Simulation analysis of built environment based on design builder software.” Appl. Mech. Mater. 580–583: 3134–3137. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.580-583.3134.
Zhang, L., H. Liu, and J. Wu. 2017. “The price premium for green-labelled housing: Evidence from China.” Urban Stud. 54: 3524–3541. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098016668288.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Journal of Architectural Engineering
Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 30Issue 4December 2024

History

Received: Jan 17, 2024
Accepted: May 6, 2024
Published online: Aug 7, 2024
Published in print: Dec 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Jan 7, 2025

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

ASCE Technical Topics:

Authors

Affiliations

Ph.D. Candidate, Building Technology and Construction Management Division, Dept. of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, Chennai 600036, India. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2177-4385.
Professor, Building Technology and Construction Management Division, Dept. of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, Chennai 600036, India (corresponding author). ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6177-6230. Email: [email protected]

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Download citation

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

View Options

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Copy the content Link

Share with email

Email a colleague

Share