ABSTRACT

In countries that have mature homeownership markets, the experience of owning a house is widespread. However, for individual families the act of purchasing a house is a relatively infrequent occurrence that constitutes their single most important investment and expenditure. While property professionals may regard the housing market as “intrinsically rational, readily comprehendible and ultimately self-regulating” (Smith et al., 2006, p. 85), the process of buying a property involves more than an economic transaction and includes complex social processes. In aggregate, families may respond to life-course changes in specific ways and adopt common strategies in their house searches or in determining the price they will pay for a property, but at the level of an individual purchase, families are swayed by internal negotiation/compromise, emotions and advice from a variety of sources (including property professionals, wider family members, friends and colleagues). In this context individuals are not always the primary decision makers and decisions are often made within wider social collectivities (Munro, 1995, p. 1610).