| 1. |
- Candel, Melissa, 1994-
(författare)
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Co-Developing Sustainability Requirements : Exploring client and municipal perspectives in housing development
- 2020
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Construction has major environmental, social and economic impacts. Improving sustainability both during and after the construction process is widely discussed among a slew of practitioners, governments and researchers. Construction clients, such as housing developers, are considered key actors for change and innovation because of their position to set requirements when procuring construction projects. The process of developing project requirements has therefore mainly been studied during the construction clients’ procurement process. At the same time, municipalities use their position as land owners to drive sustainable development. Land allocation agreements allow municipalities to set project-specific sustainability requirements for construction projects on municipal land. The purpose of this thesis is to explore how municipal sustainability requirements affect housing developers when planning and designing their projects.The research is based on a single empirical case study of an urban development programme comprising multiple parallel and sequential housing construction projects. In this study, the municipality’s and housing developers’ perspectives are explored. The results demonstrate that the housing developers perceive several barriers to implementing municipal sustainability requirements. The three main barriers that were identified are reduced flexibility coupled with uncertainty, conflicting interests coupled with reduced autonomy and interdependencies, and a lack of trust and transparency coupled with interdependencies. The municipal sustainability requirements are initially developed by the municipality for the land allocation agreement. They are then co-developed further by the municipality and the housing developers together through negotiations before being finalised in conjunction with the developers’ procurement process.The study is focused on the period following the housing developers’ signing of land allocation agreements with the municipality and before starting their procurement process. During this period, the housing developers attempt to negotiate municipal sustainability requirements that they anticipate will increase costs, risk and uncertainty and decrease the value of their final product. Negotiations between the housing developers and the municipality can be viewed as value co-creation processes stimulated by functional conflict. These findings build on three papers that are included in the thesis.Contributions are made to literature on the role of construction clients and their perceived barriers to implementing and developing sustainable construction solutions and practices and barriers to change in general. Theoretical contributions are also made to literature on value co-creation in construction by illustrating how clients engage in the co-creation of value with municipalities and other clients. Finally, the theoretical link between value co-creation and functional conflict is studied and developed.
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| 2. |
- Engerstam, Sviatlana, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Exploring the Effects of Municipal Land and Building Policies on Apartment Size in New Residential Construction in Sweden
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Risk and Financial Management. - : MDPI. - 1911-8074. ; 16:4, s. 220-220
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- New residential construction in many countries with rapid urban growth is often interrelated with smaller housing units being built. Sweden is not an exception. It is of interest to investigate the driving forces behind this tendency. Our presumption is that municipal land price policies and building permit regulations might play a certain role in this process. Contrary to previous studies that focus on the number of new dwelling units in housing construction, our purpose is to analyze the average size of new housing units and the factors that affect it on an aggregate level. We apply seemingly unrelated regressions for analysis of the average apartment size in new residential construction in the three largest metropolitan regions in Sweden as a function of the changes in population, apartment rent and prices, mortgage interest rates, land prices, and building permits per capita as a proxy for regulation. The unbalanced panel dataset includes the period between 1998 and 2017 and covers both the rental and the housing cooperative sectors. The analysis demonstrates that land prices and building policies along with market fundamentals are the underlying factors that affect the average size of an apartment in new residential construction in Sweden.
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| 3. |
- Engerstam, Sviatlana, 1974-
(författare)
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Housing Market Dynamics
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The dynamics of housing markets constitute a complex phenomenon. The body of research is vast and includes thousands of studies done on the national and international level. Empirical evidence indicates that housing markets differ in local institutional arrangements and that these might affect the ways they develop over time. To analyze housing market dynamics in various institutional environments and to increase our understanding of them is the main objective of this thesis.The scope of research includes analysis of relevant theories and empirical models that might explain development of house prices over the long run. Given that prices affect housing construction, this thesis also aims to deepen understanding of the impact of the relationship between new construction and underlying fundamentals, together with various institutional arrangements that might differ between countries. In particular, they include bank lending policies, valuation methods for mortgage purposes, different regulatory measures like rent control, as well as land and building policies.The Swedish apartment market was chosen for empirical analysis. The analysis is carried out by a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodology and applies several research methods, such as systematic literature review, and panel data analysis with application of advanced econometric techniques like Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares, Fixed and Random Effects and Seemingly Unrelated Regressions. Four studies are carried out using these methodologies.The results indicate that the interest rate, disposable income and population growth seem to be major determinants of house prices according to studies found in the empirical literature (Paper 1). The study also classifies house price determinants in relation to the size of their elasticities. However, fundamental factors cannot always provide an explanation for the deviations in house price dynamics in different countries, whereas the institutional environment might do so (Paper 2). The analysis demonstrates that land prices and building policies, along with a number of market fundamentals, affect the average size of an apartment in new residential construction (Paper 3). In the presence of rent control, the rent or price level does not contribute by adding new units to the total housing stock. In addition, the displacement effect occurs primarily in the market’s rental sector and not in the tenant-owned apartments segment (Paper 4).This research contributes to a better understanding of housing markets dynamics and suggests policy implications that might reduce the risks for housing bubbles and improve the socio-economic development of the society over the long run.
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| 4. |
- Engerstam, Sviatlana, et al.
(författare)
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Is smaller housing size a consequence of land price policies and building permit regulations?
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- We can observe a trend of smaller housing units in new residential construction in many countries with rapid urban growth. It is of interest to recognize the driving forces that are behind this trend because if it sustains in the long run, as both positive and negative consequences for sustainable development of the housing market can be expected. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the main underlying factors affecting the average size of apartments in new construction in metropolitan areas in Sweden. Panel data methodology applied in the analysis. The model uses the average size of an apartment in new housing construction as a function of the changes in the population, apartment prices, mortgage interest rates, rents, land prices, building permits per capita. We estimate the interrelationship between apartment size and these variables through simultaneous equation models. The data covers both the rental and the cooperative housing sectors over 24-28 years depending on availability of variables. The analysis demonstrates that the land values and building policies, along with market fundamentals, are the underlying factors that affect the average size of an apartment in new residential construction. Opposite to previous studies that focus on explaining the number of new housing, we analyze the average size of new housing units and factors that affect it on an aggregated level.
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| 5. |
- Engerstam, Sviatlana, et al.
(författare)
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Long-Term Dynamics of New Residential Supply : A Case Study of the Apartment Segment in Sweden
- 2022
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Ingår i: Buildings. - : MDPI AG. - 2075-5309. ; 12:7, s. 970-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Since the size of the homeownership ratio differs significantly between countries, it is important to understand the mechanisms that lie behind the decrease or growth of certain sectors of the housing market such as rentals and housing cooperatives. The aim of this study is to analyze the long-term dynamics of the new residential supply in Sweden's three largest cities for the period of 1990-2020 and estimate in what way market fundamentals affect it through new construction and housing conversions. We apply panel data methodology and, in distinction to previous research, consider the development of the housing market (urban growth) as physical volume. The results demonstrate that structural changes are driven mainly by fundamental demand factors and that the displacement effect occurs primarily in the market's rental sector and not in the owner-occupied segment. The apartment price per square meter, together with mortgage interest rates, are the major driving factors in the process of converting dwellings into housing cooperatives. Fundamental variables that affect new construction in both the rental and housing cooperative sectors are population and income growth. In the presence of a rent control environment, the rent or price level does not contribute to adding new units to the total housing stock.
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| 6. |
- Engerstam, Sviatlana, et al.
(författare)
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Long-term dynamics of new residential supply: A case study of the apartment segment in Sweden
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Since the size of the homeownership ratio differs significantly between countries, it is important to understand the mechanisms that lie behind decrease or growth of certain sectors of the housing market like rentals and housing cooperatives. The aim of this study is to analyze the long-term dynamics of the new residential supply in Sweden’s three largest cities for the period of 1990-2020 and estimate in what way market fundamentals affect it through new construction and housing conversions. We apply panel data methodology and, in distinction to previous research, consider the development of the housing market (urban growth) as physical volume. The results demonstrate that structural changes are driven mainly by fundamental demand factors and that the displacement effect occurs primarily in the market’s rental sector and not in the owner-occupied segment. The apartment price per square meter, together with mortgage interest rates, are the major driving factors in the process of converting dwellings into housing cooperatives. Fundamental variables that affect new construction in both the rental and housing cooperative sectors are population and income growth. In the presence of a rent control environment, the rent or price level does not contribute to adding new units to the total housing stock.
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| 7. |
- Ismail, Mohammad, et al.
(författare)
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An exploratory analysis of housing and the distribution of COVID-19 in Sweden
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The impact of COVID-19 on various aspects of our life is evident. Proximity and close contact with individuals infected with the virus, and as well as the extent of such contact, contribute to the intensity of the spread of the virus. Healthy and infected household members, who both require sanctuary and quarantine space, come into proximate and extended contact in housing. In other words, housing and living conditions can impact the health of occupants and the spread of COVID-19. This study investigates the relationship between housing characteristics and variations in the spread of COVID-19 per capita across Sweden's 290 municipalities. For this purpose, we have used the number of infected COVID-19 cases per capita during the pandemic period, February 2020 through April 2021, per municipality. The focus is variables that measure housing and housing conditions in the municipalities. We have used exploratory and principal components analysis to reduce highly correlated variables into a set of linearly uncorrelated variables. We then use the generated variables to estimate direct and indirect effects in a spatial regression analysis. The results indicate that housing and housing availability are important explanatory factors for the geographical spread of COVID-19. Overcrowding, availability, and quality are all critical explanatory factors.
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| 8. |
- Ismail, Mohammad, et al.
(författare)
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An Exploratory Analysis of Housing and the Distribution of COVID-19 in Sweden
- 2022
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Ingår i: Buildings. - : MDPI AG. - 2075-5309. ; 12:1, s. 71-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The impact of COVID-19 on various aspects of our life is evident. Proximity and close contact with individuals infected with the virus, and the extent of such contact, contribute to the intensity of the spread of the virus. Healthy and infected household members who both require sanctuary and quarantine space come into close and extended contact in housing. In other words, housing and living conditions can impact the health of occupants and the spread of COVID-19. This study investigates the relationship between housing characteristics and variations in the spread of COVID-19 per capita across Sweden's 290 municipalities. For this purpose, we have used the number of infected COVID-19 cases per capita during the pandemic period-February 2020 through April 2021-per municipality. The focus is on variables that measure housing and housing conditions in the municipalities. We use exploratory analysis and Principal Components Analysis to reduce highly correlated variables into a set of linearly uncorrelated variables. We then use the generated variables to estimate direct and indirect effects in a spatial regression analysis. The results indicate that housing and housing availability are important explanatory factors for the geographical spread of COVID-19. Overcrowding, availability, and quality are all critical explanatory factors.
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| 9. |
- Ismail, Mohammad, et al.
(författare)
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Do segregated housing markets have a spillover effect on housing prices in nearby residential areas?
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- From an international perspective, housing segregation in Sweden is considered relatively low. However, in recent years the issue has been raised and problematized. For example, some studies show that ethnic housing segregation increased in 199 of Sweden's 285 municipalities during the years 2005- 2015. The purpose of this project is to analyze the trends regarding housing segregation over the past 10-20 years, and whether housing segregation has a spillover effect on neighboring housing areas. Namely, does proximity to a specific type of segregated housing market has a negative impact, while another type of segregation has a positive impact, on nearby housing markets. The results indicate that segregation measured as income sorting has increased over time in some of the housing markets. Its effects on housing values in neighboring housing areas are significant and statistically significant.
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| 10. |
- Ismail, Mohammad, et al.
(författare)
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Do segregated housing markets have a spillover effect on housing prices in nearby residential areas?
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of European Real Estate Research. - : Emerald. - 1753-9269 .- 1753-9277. ; 14:2, s. 169-186
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyse the trends regarding housing segregation over the past 10–20 years and determine whether housing segregation has a spillover effect on neighbouring housing areas. Namely, the authors set out to determine whether proximity to a specific type of segregated housing market has a negative impact on nearby housing markets while proximity to another type of segregated market has a positive impact. Design/methodology/approach: For the purposes of this paper, the authors must combine information on segregation within a city with information on property values in the city. The authors have, therefore, used data on the income of the population and data on housing values taken from housing transactions. The case study used is the city of Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. The empirical analysis will be the estimation of the traditional hedonic pricing model. It will be estimated for the condominium market. Findings: The results indicate that segregation, when measured as income sorting, has increased over time in some of the housing markets. Its effects on housing values in neighbouring housing areas are significant and statistically significant. Research limitations/implications: A better understanding of the different potential spillover effects on housing prices in relation to the spatial distribution of various income groups would be beneficial in determining appropriate property assessment levels. In other words, awareness of this spillover effect could improve existing property assessment methods and provide local governments with extra information to make an informed decision on policies and services needed in different neighbourhoods. Practical implications: On housing prices emanating from proximity to segregated areas with high income differs from segregated areas with low income, policies that address socio-economic costs and benefits, as well as property assessment levels, should reflect this pronounced difference. On the property level, positive spillover on housing prices near high-income segregated areas will cause an increase in the number of higher income groups and exacerbate segregation based on income. Contrarily, negative spillover on housing prices near low-income areas might discourage high-income households from moving to a location near low-income segregated areas. Local government should be aware of these spillover effects on housing prices to ensure that policies intended to reduce socioeconomic segregation, such as residential and income segregation, produce desirable results. Social implications: Furthermore, a good estimation of these spillover effects on housing prices would allow local governments to carry out a cost–benefit analysis for policies intended to combat segregation and invest in deprived communities. Originality/value: The main contribution of this paper is to go beyond the traditional studies of segregation that mainly emphasise residential segregation based on income levels, i.e. low-income or high-income households. The authors have analysed the spillover effect of proximity to hot spots (high income) and cold spots (low income) on the housing values of nearby condominiums or single-family homes within segregated areas in Stockholm Municipality in 2013.
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| 11. |
- Ismail, Mohammad, et al.
(författare)
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Measuring Gentrification with Getis-Ord Statistics and Its Effect on Housing Prices in Neighboring Areas: The Case of Stockholm
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The study aims to measure the occurrence of gentrification and relate gentrification with housing values. For this purpose, we have used Getis-Ord statistics to identify and quantify gentrification in different residential areas in a case study about Stockholm, Sweden. Gentrification will be measured in two dimensions, namely income and population. We analyse the change in these dimensions between 2007 and 2013. In step two, this measure is included in a traditional hedonic pricing model where the intention is to explain housing prices. Prices for 2014-1015 will be used in the hedonic price model. The results indicate that the parameter estimate is statistically significant, suggesting that gentrification contributes to housing values near gentrified neighbourhoods. This possible spillover effect of house prices due to gentrification by income and population was similar in both the hedonic price and treatment effect models. According to our hedonic price model, proximity to the gentrified area increases housing value around 6-8%. The effect of the spillover effect on price distribution seems to be consistent and stable in gentrified areas.
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| 12. |
- Ismail, Mohammad, et al.
(författare)
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Schools' capitalization into housing values in a context of free school choices
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The issue of schools and their capitalization in property values has been analyzed extensively. Our contribution is to analyze this effect in an alternative institutional context. This case study will analyze the housing market in Stockholm, Sweden. What distinguishes the Swedish school system is that we have a free choice of schools, which means that a family does not necessarily have to live in a school district to access the schools in that area. This means that families do not have to move to the district to which they intend to send their children but can apply to send them there regardless of whether they live there or not. Nevertheless, families might be interested in living close to good schools to be within walking distance of these schools. This is especially true at the primary school level. Therefore, we have analyzed schools' capitalization in property values in the context of free school choice. We use data on transaction prices for condominiums in Stockholm's inner city. The results indicate a capitalization of living close to good schools, but this capitalization is limited. We can show that schools' capitalization depends partly on the quality of the schools and partly on whether or not they are co-located with other externalities, such as green areas. The results also indicate that capitalization is affected by income differences within the city.
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| 13. |
- Ismail, Mohammad, et al.
(författare)
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Schools' Capitalization into Housing Values in a Context of Free School Choices
- 2022
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Ingår i: Buildings. - : MDPI AG. - 2075-5309. ; 12:7, s. 1021-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The issue of schools and their capitalization in property values has been analyzed extensively. Our contribution is to analyze this effect in an alternative institutional context. In this case study, we analyzed the housing market in Stockholm, Sweden. What distinguishes the Swedish school system is that we have a free choice of schools, which means that a family does not necessarily have to live in a school district to access the schools in that area. This means that families do not have to move to the district to which they intend to send their children but can apply to send them there regardless of whether they live there or not. Nevertheless, families might be interested in living close to good schools to be within walking distance of these schools. This is especially true at the primary school level. Therefore, we analyzed schools' capitalization in property values in the context of free school choice. We used data on transaction prices for condominiums in Stockholm's inner city. The results indicate a capitalization of living close to good schools, but this capitalization is limited. We can show that schools' capitalization depends partly on the quality of the schools and partly on whether or not they are co-located with other externalities, such as green areas. The results also indicate that capitalization is affected by income differences within the city.
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| 14. |
- Ismail, Mohammad, et al.
(författare)
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Who owns the city, and why should we care?
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Who owns the city, and why is it important to know? The city constantly makes decisions that affect municipal residents regarding municipal services, land use, and financing. The cost is often linked directly to the municipal residents, but the benefits of some decisions directly affect the property owners and only indirectly affect the municipal residents. On the other hand, the property owners can be residents in the city or the country, but they can also be foreign property owners. Therefore, the distribution of costs will differ from the distribution of benefits. The study aims to investigate and analyse real estate owners in some focus areas in Stockholm municipality in terms of nationality, patterns of real estate usage, area of properties, and the nature of ownership. We determined the concentration of real estate owners by nationality in the different focus areas by Using Getis-Ord statistics Gi* measuring the concentration of Swedish and non-Swedish real estate owners.
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| 15. |
- Ismail, Mohammad, et al.
(författare)
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Who Owns the City, and Why Should We Care?
- 2022
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Ingår i: Land. - : MDPI. - 2073-445X. ; 11:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Who owns the city, and why is it important to know? The city constantly makes decisions that affect municipal residents regarding municipal services, land use, and financing. The cost is often linked directly to the municipal residents, but the benefits of some decisions directly affect the property owners and only indirectly affect the municipal residents. On the other hand, the property owners can be residents in the city or the country, but they can also be foreign property owners. Therefore, the distribution of costs will differ from the distribution of benefits. The study aims to investigate and analyse real estate owners in some focus areas in the Stockholm municipality in terms of nationality, patterns of real estate usage, area of properties, and the nature of ownership.
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| 16. |
- Sundfors, David, 1980-
(författare)
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Performance Metrics for Sustainability Value
- 2016
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The trend that started with Green Building has moved on into Sustainable Building. But how do we know that something is really sustainable? This project started out with the intention to find a small set of performance indicators for commercial buildings, which could be continuously measured and monitored over time, which would give a good indication of the level of sustainability of the building and as such, and be presented as an additional part in a valuation. Since it has been shown several times over by now that properties that can prove they are sustainable generate a higher market price, these performance indicators would be interesting from the perspective of a valuation professional. In order to find these parameters, the project began with three of the international environmental certification systems and one Swedish system, to study which parameters are considered important in these systems. Following that study, surveys and interviews within the real estate business in Sweden provided an insight into how performance is measured today. Lastly, by combining those studies with a review of the sustainability information considered important by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) from a valuation professional’s point of view and an updated literature review, a simple set of indicators could indeed be identified. There is however, still a problem with defining their actual impact on market price. Other authors have come to the conclusion that although sustainability can be measured to some extent, incorporating that information into valuation of the property in a statistical secure way is not yet possible. We need to increase our knowledge about the performance of our built environment and the presented key performance indicators in this thesis would help us do just that. We can also see that real estate owners in many cases already gather much information about their buildings, but they lack the incentives to share that data with others.
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| 17. |
- Sundfors, David, 1980-, et al.
(författare)
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Sustainable performance in buildings : Time-frames and follow-ups in environmental rating systems
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- An environmental certificate gives information about the characteristics of the building today, but does not, as the current study shows, guarantee future performance. The question investigated in this study is if there are any demands at all on a newly constructed and certified building to provide any form of information that shows that the building actually perform according to the promises of the certificate. If there is, then which certificate does have these criteria and how common is it? This report is an attempt to compare popular environmental certificates for newly constructed buildings, but from the perspective of their demand of follow-ups. From the point of view of a property investor and a valuation professional, it should be of interest to identify measurable parameters that could provide historical performance data on a building. Also from an environmental perspective actual long term performance should be most important. In the paper we formulate three conditions that a long term credible environmental rating system should fulfill: any certificate should only be preliminary until it has been verified by actual performance metrics, continuous monitoring should be done and it should be mandatory to re-evaluate the building every fifth year according to updated versions of the rating system in question
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| 18. |
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| 19. |
- Warsame, Abukar, et al.
(författare)
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Armed conflicts and prevailing rank-size patterns in 28 African states
- 2019
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Ingår i: African Geographical Review. - : Taylor & Francis Group. - 1937-6812 .- 2163-2642. ; 38:1, s. 81-93
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Refugees fleeing conflict and oppression can affect the population size of cities within a country and neighboring countries. This paper examines how the rank-size rule of cities has changed in 28 countries located in volatile regions of Africa over the past four decades. We estimate two equation models explaining the relationship between spatial/temporal variation in cities and noneconomic factors. Although economic factors remain the principal determinants of urban growth, the prevailing rank-size patterns indicate that noneconomic factors such as armed conflicts are behind the development of most of these cities, particularly those near or bordering conflict areas.
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| 20. |
- Warsame, Abukar
(författare)
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Construction cost - central concepts, categories and determining factors
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Causes of construction cost escalations can be numerous and any effort to ascertain them in order to explain regional disparities requires that all the major construction cost components affected by the increase must first be recognized. Imprecise concepts and categories as well as mix-up of what constitute cost or price makes it difficult to systematically identify these cost constituents. The aim of this paper is to synthesize these concepts and systematize the factors that determine construction cost factors in a way that makes it easier to tackle the issue of Swedish regional construction cost escalation differences. The factors influencing construction costs were divided into four groups/layers based on the extent to which the construction actors, especially contractors and clients, could influence the factors; project-specific factors, client-contractor related factors, competition and market conditions, and macroeconomic and political factors. Factors in the first and final groups may not contribute valuable analysis that explains the regional construction costs differences. The other two groups of factors; client and contractor-related factors and competition and market conditions could have huge influences on construction costs and hence could explain different construction costs increase observed between metropolitan and smaller regions in Sweden.
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| 21. |
- Warsame, Abukar
(författare)
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Decision-making theories in relation to quality of infrastructure transport projects
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Infrastructure transport projects are characterized by long-term assets that often require an enormous initial investment, and high operating and maintenance resources. They also involve many stakeholders with divergent goals and objectives. Generally, the realization of these projects takes several years from the inception of the project to planning, construction, and the operational phase. Numerous decisions will be made during the realization of a project. Some decisions occur within a single organization such as an owner’s decision to adopt a procurement or contracting strategy, while other decisions involve more than one organization or actor such as quality assurance procedures during the construction phase. The aim of this paper is to explore the extent to which decisions intended to ensure meeting project members’ planned budget, time and technical specifications could have produced a less desirable quality level of transport projects. An online survey of 68 respondents and a critical analysis of quality-related decisions during the construction and final inspection of infrastructure transport projects indicate that current quality assurance practices could be the source of an inadequate quality level or lack of quality improvement. The competence level of a client is indicated as one of the sources of quality problems. The decision to transfer quality assurance responsibility from client to contractor may have contributed to this lack of a client’s competence skills, creating a higher dependence on a supplier’s judgment of the quality level of projects. A recurring acceptance of an adequate quality level could become the norm rather than seeking the highest level of quality specified during the contracting phase. Thus, a downward spiral of quality level acceptance could hamper the drive toward quality improvement goals for infrastructure transport projects.
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| 22. |
- Warsame, Abukar, et al.
(författare)
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Demography as a determinant for housing construction
- 2014
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Over the last decades, Sweden like most of the rest of Europe has experienced significant demographic changes due to aging population and influx of immigrants. Shifting composition of the population can be expected to affect housing construction in terms of housing tenure and total stock. While numerous studies have shown that there might be a dependence of demographic composition of the population and real estate construction, other studies have shown that this might be a result stemming from lack of control variables. This study sets out to analyze the relationship of demography and real estate construction, adding to the existing literature by differentiating between real estate construction in rental and owning sectors, as well as single- and multifamily sectors. We utilize a panel data set spanning from 1975 to 2005 that consists seven aggregated, self-contained regions of Sweden. Our preliminary findings suggest that the different estimates of the relationship between age categories of the population and housing construction is negligible. However, the difference in magnitude from younger persons between rental and non-rental multi-family housing construction is significant.
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| 23. |
- Warsame, Abukar
(författare)
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Frame work for quality improvement of infrastructure projects
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In order to achieve high quality that not only gives acceptable return value to society but also satisfies the needs of all the stakeholders of infrastructure projects, comprehensive understanding of issues pertaining to the quality of the project is needed. The aim of this study is to provide an overview the most common procurement methods used in constructing infrastructure transport projects and analyze how these methods contribute to the desired quality of the final product in relation to client competence. An on-line survey of construction actors was carried out to ascertain quality level of Swedish infrastructure transport projects and determinant factors of quality problems. An equal number of respondents indicated that the quality of infrastructure projects has either increased or remained same level over the past twenty years. They also pointed out luck of client competence that is vital in realizing the desired quality level through proper procurement, monitoring and evaluation procedures. Public clients heavily rely on traditional design-build procurement that requires considerable client involvement of a project. Thus, the association of quality problems and luck of client competence may not be a mere coincidence but an overlooked outcome of current situation.
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| 24. |
- Warsame, Abukar
(författare)
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Framework for Quality Improvement of Infrastructure Projects
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture. - : David Publishing. - 1934-7359. ; 7:12, s. 1529-1539
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In order to achieve high quality that not only gives acceptable return value to society but also satisfies the needs of all the stakeholders of infrastructure projects, comprehensive understanding of issues pertaining to the quality of the project is needed. The aim of this study is to provide an overview the most common procurement methods used in constructing infrastructure transport projects and analyze how these methods contribute to the desired quality of the final product in relation to client competence. An on-line survey of construction actors was carried out to ascertain quality level of Swedish infrastructure transport projects and determinant factors of quality problems. An equal number of respondents indicated that the quality of infrastructure projects has either increased or remained same level over the past twenty years. Respondents also pointed out lack of client competence that is vital in realizing the desired quality level through proper procurement, monitoring and evaluation procedures. Public clients heavily rely on traditional design-build procurement that requires considerable client involvement of a project. Thus, the association of quality problems and lack of client competence may not be a mere coincidence but an overlooked outcome of current situation.
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| 25. |
- Warsame, Abukar, et al.
(författare)
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How Can Clients Improve the Quality of TransportInfrastructure Projects? : The Role of Knowledge Managementand Incentives
- 2013
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Ingår i: Scientific World Journal. - : Hindawi Publishing Corporation. - 1537-744X. ; 2013
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aimof this paper is to argue for a number of statements about what is important for a client to do in order to improve quality innew infrastructure projects, with a focus on procurement and organizational issues.The paper synthesizes theoretical and empiricalresults concerning organizational performance, especially the role of the client for the quality of a project.The theoretical frameworkused is contract theory and transaction cost theory, where assumptions about rationality and self-interest are made and whereincentive problems, asymmetric information, and moral hazard are central concepts. It is argued that choice of procurement typewill not be a crucial factor. There is no procurement method that guarantees a better quality than another. We argue that giventhe right conditions all procurement methods can give good results, and given the wrong conditions, all of them can lead to lowquality.What is crucial is how the client organization manages knowledge and the incentives for the members of the organization.This can be summarized as “organizational culture.” One way to improve knowledge and create incentives is to use independentsecond opinions in a systematic way.
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| 26. |
- Warsame, Abukar
(författare)
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Long-run relationship, Vertical Integration and International Competition: : Can they contribute to explaining regional construction cost differences?
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The existence of opportunistic behavior by contractors or sub-contractors in the bidding process encouraged by the governance structure of construction companies as well as the kind of relationship that exist between contractors and clients is thought to have some bearing on the rising construction cost observed in some regions of Sweden. Three hypotheses were formulated concerning the impact that long run relationship between contractors and developers, vertically integrated firms, and the increase of international competition could have on the construction cost increase. The hypotheses were tested by collecting data from a number of projects from six cities in different regions. The semi-structured survey produced inconclusive results. Long run and collaborative relationship was prevalent in small region though respondents in this region did not see a strong connection between construction costs increase levels and the kind of observed relationship. In the Stockholm region short-term relationships were mostly prevalent. Vertical integration and foreign competition impacts on construction costs were not significant in either region.
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| 27. |
- Warsame, Abukar
(författare)
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Long run relationships, Vertical Integration, and International competition : Can they explain regional construction cost differences?
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture. - : David Publishing Company. - 1934-7359. ; 8:4, s. 378-387
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The existence of opportunistic behavior by contractors or sub-contractors in the bidding process encouraged by the governance structure of construction companies as well as the kind of relationship that exist between contractors and clients is thought to have some bearing on the rising construction cost observed in some regions of Sweden. Three hypotheses that are intended to test the impact that long run relationship between contractors and developers, vertically integrated firms, and the increase of international competition could have on the construction cost increase levels were tested on a predetermined number of projects from six cities in different regions. The semi-structured survey produces inconclusive results. Long run and collaborative relationship was prevalent in small region though respondents in this region did not draw strong connection between construction cost increase levels and the kind of observed relationship. In Stockholm region, short-term relationship was mostly prevalent. Vertical integration and foreign competition impacts on construction costs were not significant in either region.
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| 28. |
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| 29. |
- Warsame, Abukar
(författare)
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Organizational modes in the residential building sector in Sweden
- 2009
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Ingår i: Construction Management and Economics. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0144-6193 .- 1466-433X. ; 27:2, s. 153-163
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Traditional organizational studies emphasize department groupings and the management style of differentorganizations that are often based on common tasks, products, geography and processes. They also mainlyemphasize the connection between construction supply chain and procurement methods but have not analysedof how external factors shape the organization structure and consequently the supply chain. Three things areanalysed: the impact of competitive pressure, required competence and degree of flexibility on various modes ofconstruction organization used for producing multi-family residential housing in Sweden from a transactioncost theory perspective. Organization structures depend on the level of project engagement, competencedemanded by the preferred organization mode as well as the economic environment, and the level ofconstruction activities.
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| 30. |
- Warsame, Abukar
(författare)
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Performance of Construction Projects : Essays on Supplier Structure, Construction Costs and Quality Improvement
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The performance of the construction industry and its contribution to the welfare of society in comparison to other industries such as the manufacturing industry has lately been the focus of many commissioned reports and academic research publications. The so-called “iron triangle” of time, cost and quality have been the most important metrics of construction project performance, especially for the selection of appropriate procurement methods. The perceived inefficiencies emanate from, among other things, increasing construction costs, conflicts and client dissatisfaction, the fragmented nature of the industry, low competition, cost overruns and delays, and lack of quality improvement. There is observed disparity in increases in housing construction costs and an apparent lack of quality improvement of infrastructure transport projects. In Sweden, metropolitan regions experienced higher construction cost increases, while small regions showed less costs increases during economic booms. In order to address these perceived inefficiencies, numerous strategic and project level decisions that influenced the way that publicly owned properties and projects are procured, constructed, operated, and maintained have been made. The decision to transfer quality-related activities and quality assurance responsibilities from client to contractor approximately 25 years ago is one of the decisions that could have an impact on current quality of infrastructure transport projects. The disparity in increases in construction costs and quality improvement concerns could not only influence the performance of construction projects, but also can affect the way different actors in the sector interact with each other and achieve their divergent objectives.The aim of this study is twofold. First, it tries to explain the observed disparity increases in construction costs between big (metropolitan) and medium/small regions. Second, it attempts to ascertain the extent of quality problems in infrastructure transport projects after the transfer of quality assurance responsibilities, and suggests measures that could improve the quality of infrastructure transport projects. Surveys and interviews were used as a means to collect data concerning both supplier structure in relation to housing construction costs and quality of construction projects. Other empirical data from a secondary source were also used.The first part of the research offers an understanding of the behavior of contractors in specific economic situations, specifically by taking into consideration the long-run relationship between contractors and owners/developers. It ascertains that if contractors/subcontractors display opportunistic behavior during the economic boom, the result will be increased higher construction costs. We utilized transaction cost theory in exploring construction sector structures in an attempt to understand changes in the sector from an efficiency perspective. The analysis can also enrich the current understanding of the governance structure of Swedish construction firms and how they could influence construction costs.As the response from the survey suggests, quality of infrastructure projects has not decreased after the transfer of quality assurance from client to contractor. However, the high number of respondents that indicated quality is the same as before the transfer raises a concern of lack of quality improvement. Respondents have overwhelmingly indicated that the lack of public client competence was one of the contributing factors of quality problems. It is argued that with client competence it is important to build-up through proper knowledge management, incentive systems, and training. Further, the retention of new skilled and experienced workers is an essential element for continuous quality improvement goals and objectives. A second opinion practice from independent experts and committees that focuses on the quality aspect of the projects can be introduced in the provision of infrastructure transport projects. Finally, it is argued that without client competence and a company culture that creates the right incentives, no procurement method can guarantee high quality.
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| 31. |
- Warsame, Abukar, et al.
(författare)
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Procurement type and quality in infrastructure projects
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- One of the major goals of any project is to achieve the highest possible quality level without adversely affecting the anticipated cost and schedule. The final quality of a project is determined by a number of factors and there is no simple deterministic relation between these underlying factors and the level of quality. A fundamental question is whether quality can be increased by choosing a particular procurement method or the risk for low quality is higher with certain procurement method. Despite the existence of large literature in this area, there has not been clearly formulated that quality is independent from the choice of procurement type. We argue that given the right conditions all procurement methods can give good results, and given the wrong conditions all of them can lead to low quality. The aim of this paper is to try to synthesize both theoretical and empirical results about the performance of different procurement method and present arguments that make this statement convincing. The theoretical framework used in this paper is general contract theory and transaction cost theory while the result from questionnaire carried out within the project provided important empirical background. Two questions that are central to the debate of the choice of procurement method in relation to quality of the final project are who should do the detailed design and should construction and operations be bundled. A client with low technical competence may choose design-build procurement method as the client then only has to specify the characteristics of final product. This same client can also contact with technical consultant and make the detailed design together that would allow client to use design-bid-build procurement method. The main conclusion is that there is no quick fix when it comes to improving quality in infrastructure projects and there is no a procurement method that guarantees a better quality than another.
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| 32. |
- Warsame, Abukar
(författare)
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Quality in infrastructure projects: concepts and framework for explanatory and exploratory studies
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- There is a shift from conformance approaches of construction projects to excellence in terms of real performance. One of the major goals of today’s project is to achieve the highest level of quality rather than just meet the specified level of quality. In Sweden, approximately 25 years ago, major construction contractors replaced the traditional client/owner control system of public finance construction projects with quality assurance systems managed by the contractors themselves. Anecdotal evidence exist that shows that the quality of infrastructure projects may not be as high as before due to many different reasons, including low productivity and incentive problems. However, thorough formal investigations that evaluate the effectiveness of the quality assurance transfer have not been carried out. The main purpose of this paper is to understand the extent and type of quality problems in infrastructure projects as a foundation for studies about what can be done to improve quality. It aims to explore the extent of any perceived quality problems that could be associated with quality assurance transfer. The type of research question issues that this paper intends to address is very complex in terms of describing what constitutes quality and what people remember about projects that they might or might not have been involved in many years ago. This entails the use of different types of research processes and approaches such as realistic research, descriptive and exploratory questionnaire as well as explanatory studies that would not only allow us to ascertain the overall quality level of infrastructure transport projects. However, it also gives us some indication of those specific concerns needed for further investigation. The results of our survey suggest that there has not been a deterioration of the (relative) quality level of infrastructure projects after the transfer of quality assurance from client to contractor. However, the expectation that the transfer would improve the quality level does not seem to be fully materialized since almost half of the respondents suggest that the quality level remained the same as before the transfer. The lesson drawn from this is that the question of what really happened to quality and why is less important than finding ways to improve quality in the future.
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| 33. |
- Warsame, Abukar, et al.
(författare)
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Quality of road construction projects in sweden between 1990 and 2010
- 2014
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Ingår i: Australasian Journal of Construction Economics and Building. - : University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). - 1835-6354. ; 14:1, s. 78-87
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It has been reported that productivity developments in construction are slow compared to other sectors. Measuring productivity is however not easy and it might have been underestimated due to deficiencies in the index that is used when the value added in current prices is converted into value added at constant prices. A central problem when deflating nominal prices is that the deflation should only take away price changes for identical products and not price changes related to quality changes and improvements necessitated by new environmental conditions and legislation as well as demand for higher safety. The aim of this project is to help fill this gap by looking at the quality changes over time in road construction. A combination of comparative studies and interviews with practitioners from public and private sectors that are involved in road construction projects were conducted. It was found that there had been both direct quality changes in the roads, primarily to improve safety on the roads and for noise protection, and indirect quality changes related to building in more difficult circumstances because of giving higher weight to other social objectives, especially environmental objectives. As these quality increases are not taken into account when productivity is measured, productivity improvements could be underestimated by around 1% per year.
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| 34. |
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| 35. |
- Warsame, Abukar, et al.
(författare)
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The effect of subsidy on housing construction in various regions of Sweden
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of European Real Estate Research. - : Emerald. - 1753-9269. ; 3:3, s. 228-244
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent that interest subsidies have impacted onthe total production of Swedish single- and multifamily houses. It also intends to examine whethertenure neutrality provision of interest subsidy that subsidy policy advocates was maintained. Design/methodology/approach – Using a multiple regression of two models, a balanced paneldata from 1975 to 2006 that consist of various related construction cost variables of all regions ofSweden will be analyzed. Instrumental variable (IV) and seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR) will beutilized to examine the role of subsidy on housing production and tenure neutrality, respectively. Findings – The results seem to indicate that a general subsidy is expected to be ineffective since itmay increase the existing stocks of a low demand region but not the housing stocks of big regionswhere the demand is high. Moreover, a targeted subsidy may change the balance between differenttypes of housings since lower construction costs due to the subsidy could favor the development ofcertain profitable housing types. Originality/value – The paper tries to substantiate (empirically) the assertion that subsidy policiescontributed both to the production of housing units in low demand regions and distortion of thepreference of different tenures.
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| 36. |
- Warsame, Abukar, et al.
(författare)
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The Impact of Competition, Subsidies, and Taxes on Production and Construction Cost : The Case of the SwedishHousing Construction Market
- 2013
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Ingår i: ISRN Economics. - : Hindawi Publishing Corporation. - 2090-8938. ; 2013
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Few empirical studies focus on developing data and analyses on the factors that influence the decision making process of builders,developers and landlords. Interest subsidy, taxes, and competition are some of the factors that can influence the level of constructionor production costs and ultimately the price of the housing units produced.Different subsidy schemes and value-added taxes (VAT)have been used as tools to increase housing construction in Sweden. However, their effect on costs of the housing stock has notbeen rigorously examined in the current housing supply literature.The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship betweenproduction and construction cost and its determinants especially their relationship to different subsidy schemes and value-addedtaxes. In our econometric analysis, we utilize a quarterly panel data that covers 1975–2004.Our results suggest that there is a positiverelationship between subsidies and construction cost and inverse relationship to value added taxes. This could explain why fewcompanies within the housing construction industry raise the cost of production since these companies could manage to transfersome of the tax burden from themselves to the housing developers. Paper goes on to discuss common practices of constructioncompanies that affects production costs.
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| 37. |
- Warsame, Abukar, et al.
(författare)
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What can the client do to improve the quality of infrastructure transport projects?
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Public sector clients play different roles in the provision of transport infrastructure projects. They are responsible to identify the needs of end-users, determine performance objectives of projects and ensure that the most appropriate procurement method that minimizes risks and optimizes outcomes is chosen. Public sector client could also have a major influence on the actions and behavior of other actors in the sector that ultimately improve the overall performance and productivity of construction sector. The purpose of this paper is to present and argue for a number of statements about what is important in order to improve quality in new infrastructure projects. The paper tries to synthesize both theoretical and empirical results concerning organizational performance, especially the role of client competence for the quality of the project. Results from the questionnaire carried out within the project but presented elsewhere and extensive literature review are mainly utilized. We argued that knowledge and incentives are two crucial dimensions for getting high quality. The internal process of client organization such as design type, procurement method, and construction procedures could be influenced by client’s internal resource capacity. Thus, a more structured and proper knowledge management will not only minimize the loss of tacit knowledge and enhance public sector’s internal process capacity but will also reduce reliance on specific procurement method without economic and technical justifications. Furthermore, certain strategies such as incentive schemes, second opinion practices, post-review reporting for accountability and transparency purposes could improve public sector’s knowledge assets. It is expected that only a public sector client with skilled and experience workforce supplemented with appropriate knowledge management can succeed to fulfill their societal responsibilities.
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| 38. |
- Warsame, Abukar, et al.
(författare)
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What impact does subsidised housing renovations have on the filtering process?
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Sweden has introduced a system of subsidising renovations of housing in the property market, which aims to modernise the building stock and improve energy efficiency. This study explores the extent to which the tax deduction for renovations (ROT) has contributed to the reduction of property depreciation and subsequent differences in single-family house prices in Swedish municipalities. The paper also investigates whether house price levels influence the desire to renovate and whether tax deductions incentivise renovation needs. Using unbalanced data from 2004 to 2020 at a municipal level regarding total subsidy amounts and housing prices, we will estimate a panel data model based on a traditional DiPasquale and Wheaton reduced-form model where house prices are dependent variable in one model and renovation amounts are the dependent variable in the other model. Other independent variables that will be used are, among others, income, demographics, and supply of single-family houses. The findings suggest that variations in the amount of tax reduction for renovations and the number of property owners receiving these subsidies in different municipalities have contributed to observable differences in house prices. The study concludes that government housing policies like subsidising renovations may interfere with a well-functioning housing market's expected filtering process. Therefore, it could have implications for policymakers looking to promote more equitable access to housing in Sweden.
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| 39. |
- Wilhelmsson, Mats, et al.
(författare)
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Gentrification effects on housing prices in neighbouring areas
- 2021
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Ingår i: International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis. - : Emerald. - 1753-8270 .- 1753-8289.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: This study aims to measure the occurrence of gentrification and to relate gentrification with housing values. Design/methodology/approach: The authors have used Getis-Ord statistics to identify and quantify gentrification in different residential areas in a case study of Stockholm, Sweden. Gentrification will be measured in two dimensions, namely, income and population. In step two, this measure is included in a traditional hedonic pricing model where the intention is to explain future housing prices. Findings: The results indicate that the parameter estimate is statistically significant, suggesting that gentrification contributes to higher housing values in gentrified areas and near gentrified neighbourhoods. This latter possible spillover effect of house prices due to gentrification by income and population was similar in both the hedonic price and treatment effect models. According to the hedonic price model, proximity to the gentrified area increases housing value by around 6%–8%. The spillover effect on price distribution seems to be consistent and stable in gentrified areas. Originality/value: A few studies estimate the effect of gentrification on property values. Those studies focussed on analysing the impacts of gentrification in higher rents and increasing house prices within the gentrifying areas, not gentrification on property prices in neighbouring areas. Hence, one of the paper’s contributions is to bridge the gap in previous studies by measuring gentrification’s impact on neighbouring housing prices.
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