Attitudes of Single Women Aged 30 and above toward Condo Living in Bangkok Metropolitan Region

Abstract

The number of single women is sizeable and continuously increasing, and they prefer to live in condominium, yet this group remains an understudied in housing research. This research aims to explore condo living, residential satisfaction and living issues. Data collecting was conducted through online surveys with 1,143 samples, focused on single women who are condo solo-dwellers in Bangkok metropolitan region.

            The study found that 1) Majorities of single women respondents are between the age of 30-39. Based on their hobbies, they can be classified into 4 groups which are single women travelers, single women with fully lived life, online single women and single women with simple life. Most of them have bachelor’s degrees, work for public and private company, earn income between 50,001-70,000 baht per month. 2) Their condominium unit mostly around 31-35 square meters. Factors to consider when selecting a condo mainly are view, location near metro station and workplace, and security. Of all the respondent, 59.4% are renter, however, younger single women prefer buying more than renting. 3) More than half of single women have high satisfaction toward condo living because of safety and relaxation factors. Even so, most of them feel lonely sometimes but it tends to decrease when getting older. Moreover, loneliness affects the use of space in condominium. 4) In terms of space utilization, half of single women live in condominium everyday. Older single women used common area and private area more than younger single women, including spending time on weekend, party frequency and facility utilization. 5) Problems of living alone mainly are home maintenance issues, moving things and sickness.     

The research results reflected the positive attitudes of single women toward condo living due to convenience and security reasons. Nevertheless, the developers should allocate space for an entertainment room or co-kitchen space to reduce the high level of loneliness especially in younger dwellers. In addition, they should offer more relaxation space such as garden or sauna for older dwellers who tend to use it more frequently. Furthermore, they should provide assistance services in order to avoid solo-living problems, for example, trolleys, emergency call etc. The study results could further be used as a guideline for condominium development in the future to fulfill and adequately meet single women needs and expectations.