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House Extensions and Housing Market Adjustment: A Case-study of Wokingham

Department of Economics, Faculty of Urban and Regional Studies, University of Reading, PO Box 219, Reading RG6 2BU, UK

Geoffrey Keogh

Department of Economics, Faculty of Urban and Regional Studies, University of Reading, PO Box 219, Reading RG6 2BU, UK

Michael J. Stabler

Department of Economics, Faculty of Urban and Regional Studies, University of Reading, PO Box 219, Reading RG6 2BU, UK

This paper identifies possible explanations of house extension, based on the literature relating to house improvement and the decision to move. House extension, both as a form of housing market adjustment and as an individual household choice, is examined in a case-study of extension activity in Wokingham. Over the period 1979-89, house extension appears to be closely related to movements in house prices and can be seen as a form of housing development. A questionnaire survey of extenders who successfully applied for planning permission in 1987 provides information on house type, household characteristics, reasons for extending, and the degree of satisfaction with extension expenditure. Extension appears less likely to be triggered by specific life-cycle events, like increases in household size or income, representing instead a progressive upgrading of property to achieve higher space standards.

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