Impacts of the rising popularity of nano-flat on property market and society : a study of Hong Kong

Abstract

There is no doubt that nano-flat has become an option for accommodation, especially for first-time homeowners and buyers with limited budgets. Yet, it is not regarded as a positive advancement since it violates people’s tendency of living in a bigger environment. There are a series of driving factors leading to the rise of nano-flat. The existing research has investigated individual causes of the rise of nano-flat and possible corrective means to tackle the phenomenon of nano-flat. Nevertheless, two subjects have not been addressed including 1) the most fundamental root cause of the emergence of nano-flat; and 2) the prospect of the nano-flat market. In this study, four objectives are going to be accomplished: 1) identifying the potential drivers of the rise of nano-flat; 2) summarizing the interrelationship between the identified drivers; 3) partitioning the identified drivers into different layers according to their causation; 4) illustrating the future opportunities and challenges of the nano-flat market. A total of twenty drivers were discovered by carrying out literature reviews and a questionnaire survey. The twenty drivers proceeded to the Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) analysis demonstrating their interrelationships. The result generated from the analysis was used to identify whether the government policy and other stakeholders’ measures will contribute to or hinder the development of the nano-flat market. The findings of this research can be served as a reference when the government puts forward policy targeted at nano-flats. It can also be utilized to reflect the effectiveness of the targeted policy.