The Built & Human Environment Review, Volume 4, Special Issue 1, 2011

Consumer Behavior Analisys of Real Estate Market with Emphasis in Residential Mobility, Choice and Satisfaction Brazilian Cases
Brandstetter, M. C. G. de O. maria.carolina@uol.com.br School of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Goias, Brazil

Abstract
This research work addresses determinants of housing consumer behavior. This Brazilian work presents the development of a methodology which combines the examination of housing attributes and behavioral attitudes about residential mobility, choice and satisfaction. A theoretical revision is made initially considering these three processes of architecture and socio-demographic literature. The research method is the multiple case studies. The data had been collected since 2004. About 80 studies had been carried. A general vision of the study is presented, with description of the sources of the data. Presenting one of the cases, the work shows how the progression of households through the stock is influenced by the circumstances that prompt moves, economic resources and family life cycle stage. For analysis of this concept, a representative project was developed, considering the notion of parallelism between professional and housing careers, life cycle events and family financial aspects. The end results might be used by developers authorities assessing the impacts of environmental characteristics as dissatisfaction causes of residential mobility. The knowledge of determinants of housing behavior allows information about the significance of relationships between the environment and human actions, which might be used by planning authorities in the definition of better subsequent built environments.

Keywords: consumer behavior, real estate, housing career

Introduction
Two aspects are essential in the present work: conceptual and methodological. The first concerns to the works goal in uniting the concepts searched in the several literatures that discuss the consumer behavior theme, adapting them to an unique and enclosing notion and involving the theme. The second concerns to the goal of proposing a methodology able to investigate the consumer behavior from this enclosing conceptual notion.

The discussion around the behavior of the habitation demand frequently is restricted to the works that evaluate the residential satisfaction, generally backed in the Post-Occupational Evaluation methodology, already broadly spread in the national scenery. However the demand behavior also involves other aspects, besides the residential satisfaction. It becomes necessary to consider the behavior in a systemic manner, relating needs, preferences, motivations that generate the search for a new house and the characteristics that define the familys social economic profile.

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A great part of the social economic geography classical studies analyze punctually the demand behavior stages, generally bound to the processes of residential mobility, the new home choice and/or the residential satisfaction. In these works, a variables set are pointed as determinant in larger or smaller influence of these processes.

Several works that have treated these stages own a quantitative view, exploring statistical data whose methodological limitation, carries the analysis passible of variables reduction. Moreover, works that care for the market segmentation or modeling need to test continually new variables.

Considering the subjective aspects of the investigation, we have started with the presupposed that a qualitative methodology, using a data collection instrument type structured interviews, it allows the comprehension, the reach and the deepening of the necessary information.

This work seeks to present the determinant variables of the real estate demand behavior, proposing the original consideration of the involved concepts in the three processes that define the behavior: mobility, choice and residential satisfaction. The originality also is regulated by the methodological proposal of investigation and ransom of the habitational preferences, based on conceptual vehicle of the housing career.

The work proposes itself, thus, to supply subsidies for studies that need the information originating from the demand, contributing with a series of intervening involved with the habitational product, especially, designers and entrepreneurs.

Literature Review
In the habitation product scope, the consumer behavior has been approached by two main slopes of research. The first is respect to the environment-behavior relations, already broadly spread by the architecture and environmental psychology. The other slope refers to the user's behavior described in the texts of socio economic and demographic geography, where the consumer behavior regarding the habitation is treated with several emphasis, generally involving the processes of mobility, choice and residential satisfaction.

The present work aims to adapt the several concepts treated by the literatures turned to the home to the theoretical reference of the consumer behavior strongly consolidated by the marketing literature.

It was sought to correlate the traditional model of consumer behavior spread by the marketing, to the several conceptual aspects generally treated in fragmented mode by the social demographic texts. The behavior phases sequence of the consumer defined by the marketing, can be correlated to the three main processes discussed by the literatures that care for the housing product: Problem recognition this phase is associated to the process of residential mobility; Information search, options evaluation and option selection such phases associate themselves to the process of residential choice; After buying behavior this phase is associated to the residential satisfaction process.

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Following it will be described the three processes that embrace the demand behavior of the real estate market with emphasis in their variables.

The Process of Residential Mobility

The literature indicates the mobility as being the process by which the families fit their home to their environmental needs which are generated by changes in the family composition (Rossi, 1980).

The mobility can be defined as the result of the residence search, not necessarily triggered by the desire of the residence improvement. Three aspects are determinant in this process: [i] motivational aspects, related to the mobility behavior; [ii] situational aspects, linked to the availability and accessibility of vacant residences in the market and [iii] aspects related to residence search in the market, like the access to the information, its processing and the decision taking. These three sets of aspects unite the personal characteristics and the behavior before the market (Hooimeijer and Oskamp, 1996).

A series of variables were pointed by the literature as influencing the process of residential mobility. The positive correlation means that the existence or the increment of the variable generates a larger probability of change, while the negative correlation indicates that the absence or the variable decrease propitiates a probability increase of the residential mobility. This variables synthesis was elaborated after the systematic analysis of a series of works pertinent to the area (Speare, 1974; Varady, 1983; Clark and Onaka, 1983; Lu, 1998; Van Leuvensteijn and Koning, 2004; Kan, 2007; Coulson and Fisher, 2009; Shan, 2010).

The variables with positive correlation with the residential mobility are: family monthly income, financial patrimony, educational level of the family head, marital status changes and of the family size. The variables with negative correlation with the residential mobility are: residence time, age or age band of the family's head and the homeownership.

The Choice Process of the New Residence

In the literature about the residence choice, countless factors were pointed as influencing this process. It can be presented a synthesis of the determinant variables of this process, pointed from a series of works of the area (Cadwallader, 1982; Oskamp, 1994; Chen and Rosenthal, 2008; Borck and Wrede, 2009; Dahl and Sorenson, 2010).

The variables that influence the residence choice process can be divided into three groups: [i] social-economic characteristics of the inhabitants (age, sex, income, family patrimony, occupation, marital status, cycle stage of the family life, residence time, size and family composition and homeownership); [ii] economic circumstances and of the market (residences price, financings, inflation and constructions volume) and [iii] characteristics of the desired residence (location, area, project, equipment and standard).

The Process of the Residential Satisfaction

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The concept of residential satisfaction became an important indicator used by researchers of studies of residential environments and analysts, for three different goals: [i] as evaluative parameter of performance of habitations of the public and private sectors; [ii] as indicator of the residential mobility and [iii] to evaluate users' perceptions regarding the inadequacies of their residential environment, enabling the guidelines formulation for future projects (Onibokun, 1973; Speare, 1974; Varady,1983; Galster, 1987; Francescato et al., 1989).

A series of variables were pointed by literature as determinants in the formation process of residential satisfaction. The work of Brandstetter (2004) that treats of the deepened investigation of residential satisfaction, points six variables of major influence in this process, after widespread analysis of this process: age, family life cycle stage, family income, family financial patrimony, homeownership, motivation for the last residential change.

Research Methodology
With the main objective of the consumer behavior deepened analysis, study object of the present work, it is proposes the multiple case studies. This proposal aims not only reach the work goals bound to the demand behavior analysis, as well as to develop a methodology able to investigate all the behavioral aspects that govern the decision taking along the life course of the several family cores (Brandstetter, 2004).

Multiple Case Studies

According to Yin (2005), the case study is a type of empiric research that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its context of real life, especially when the limits between the phenomenon and the context are not evident. It was opted the case study as a strategy adequate to the research purposes due to the factors:

The investigator has little or no control on the events, having questions type how and why. At the present work there is no control on the events, having as basic questions, for example, how were characterized the residential changes along the life and which are the satisfaction levels regarding several technical constructive aspects. The focus is in a contemporary phenomenon inside the context of real life. The research focus is the residential environment in its actuation context. The case study investigation is based on several evidences sources, benefiting itself of the previous development of theoretical propositions for collection conduction and of the data analysis (Yin, 2005). The option for the multiple case studies should happen when it is not verified the applicability of none of the situations that characterize the study of simple case or unique (Yin, 2005). At the present work it was not verified any of these situations, choosing the multiple case studies.

A perception that we should have considering multiple cases, is to follow the replication logic, which differs from the sampling logic. According to Yin (2005), each case should be selected so as to foresee similar results (literal replication) or produce contrasting results due to pre-determined reasons (theoretical replication). In the present work, the guiding hypotheses indicate the search of both replications logics. For example, the work has for hypothesis the identification of decision taking (regarding the mobility and regarding the residential choice)

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similar along the housing career of several family arrangements. Such observation induces the clear indication of literal replication.

On the other hand, the work has for hypothesis that the investigation of consumer behavior along its housing career evidences that the preferences of each family core provoke a behavioral variability able to make unfeasible the effective segmentation. This observation indicates a contrasting result to the segmentation notion, what can be proved by cases that illustrate the theoretical replication.

Regarding the external validity, we start from the concept that the case studies are generalized to theoretical propositions and not to populations or universes. Thus, the case studies do not seek statistics generalizations and, yes, analytic generalizations, in other words, it seeks to associate the discoveries to a theory. This concept adapts to the present work goals. We start with the presupposition that the theory of this research can serve of instrument for the exam of other data. Generally the case study is the chosen strategy when it is examined contemporary happenings, not being possible to manipulate important behaviors. Among the used techniques, two evidences sources are usually included: direct observation and systematic series of interviews (Yin, 2005). The multiple case studies protocol is presented in the sequence. The elaboration of such document is a strategy to increase the case study reliability. The protocol contains a case study overview, procedures and the data collection instrument.

The Field Research

The consumer behavior investigation considering in a joint manner the mobility processes, choice and residential satisfaction occurred along the life time course is based on characterization of the family housing career. Such concept embraces the habitations sequence along life and the processes of residential mobility, including the trigger event able to break the satisfaction balance, the change intention confirmed by the problem recognition, the choice (search, options evaluation and selection) and afterwards, the new period of satisfaction with the subsequent residence. The study protocol of the proposed multiple case for the present work is described according to the following sequence.

Multiple Case Studies Overview

Goal: investigate the behavior of the habitational demand, by characterization means of the family housing career. Considering the specific market band proposed on the work (average class / average high), the study searches to analyze the processes of residential mobility already occurred and the satisfaction with the current residence. Data sources: interviews previously scheduled with the chosen families; designs and personal documents (photos, sketches of environmental modifications, solicitation of services of technical assistance and maintenance) related to the residential environments belonging to the family; observation of the residential environments. Activities: define the criteria for families sample selection; select the families to be interviewed; elaborate the data collection instrument; validate the data collection instrument; make an appointment,

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make and transcribe the interviews; organize the documented material (photos, reports of technical assistance, among others); analyze the collected material confronting with the studied theory; Procedures: families choosing by convenience: selection by not statistical criteria. Use of intentionality criterion the called typical cases. The choice by a specific segment of study the segment of larger band age (above 45 years) it owes to the search of wealthier housing careers. Appointment of the interviews: identify the familys head; expose the work goal for all the family members; mark the date and the first interview schedule. Interviews accomplishment: expose the work goal; point out the information anonymity character; define the interviews record (authorization for recordings, photos and annotations); use the script of the structured interview; proceed other data documentation type as photos record, reports of technical assistance, environment customization services. Data analysis: transcribe the registered annotations and/or recorded tapes; analyze the data in a qualitative manner confronting with the studied theory; proceed a comparative analysis among studied cases.

With the intuit of analyzing better the concept of the housing career, a representative scheme of the same was developed, having as conceptual premise the parallelism notion among professional careers, housing, the events linked to family life cycle and the family financial aspects determinants of residential mobility processes along the time. For better concept visualization and representation, it was created an axis of temporal reference, from the age of the family's head. This scheme embraces the investigation main variables of the demand behavior: familys head age, sons age, family composition, family life cycle stage, aspects of family income and financial patrimony, professional occupation, motivation for residence change, chosen building typology, time of stay in each residence and homeownership. It follows the correlation between hypothesis and main goals of work, as well as the methodology to reach such goal and to validate the hypothesis. General Hypothesis - The general hypothesis is that the consumer behavior of the real estate market can be characterized from the investigation of the family housing career. General Goal - The general goal is the behavior investigation of the habitational demand, considering the joint analysis of the mobility processes, residential choice and satisfaction, by means of the development of a new investigative methodology based on characterization of the housing career. Methodology - Qualitative methodology Revealed preference, multiple case studies by means of the use of semi-structured interviews. The interviews embody the characterization of the family core and its residential history, including the factors that lead to the satisfaction balance breaking in each residence, the search process of all residences, the options evaluation, the form as it was proceeded the final decision for each residence decision of the housing career and the satisfaction characterization with the current residence.

Findings and Discussion

It follows a general characterization sample and the presentation of a case study as illustration of the presented methodological proposal in this work. About 80 cases were made during the years from 2004 to 2009.

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General Characterization of the Sample

The population sample belongs to the city of Goinia, Brazil. The family monthly income varied between US$2500 and US$4500 monthly. The family's head age varied between 45 and 74 years. The classification by family life cycle stage is presented in the sequence: Stage 1 bachelor without sons Stage 2 married without sons Stage 3 Family with children sons (the oldest up to 11 years) Stage 4 Family with teenagers sons (the oldest up to 18 years) Stage 5 Family with adult sons (the oldest above 18 years) Stage 6 Couple whose sons already left home Stage 7 Divorced whose sons do not live together Stage 8 Widower whose sons do not live together

The Figure 1 presents the relation between stage of the current family life cycle and the also current age of the familys head.

Figure 1: Sample composition of family life cycle stage and family's head age

The classification used to the residential changes is the suggested by the researchers Clark and Onaka (1983): [i] voluntary changes by adjustments (search for space, neighborhood, location, among others); [ii] induced

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voluntary changes (motivated by professional reasons and events of family life cycle as the formation or the family dissolution) and [iii] involuntary or forced (reasons as the building destruction or yet the rent contract ending).

Among the changes occurred along the 80 studied housing careers, there is a small difference among voluntary changes by adjustment and induced. In the total of 420 changes, 50% occurred voluntarily, caused generally by professional reasons or by events of family life cycle. Of the remaining, 46% occurred voluntarily for adjustment of some attribute (especially location and space). Only 4% occurred in a forced manner, especially by rental contract ending.

Presentation of One of Case Studies

Composition of the family core at the present time: father (48 years), mother and two sons (17 and 19 years). The Figure 2 presents the representative scheme of the housing career of this case study.

Figure 2: Representative scheme of housing career case 28

The first residence was a rented house that remained satisfactory for the couple for two years. The period of family expansion, marked by the births of two sons, generates the need to a roomier residential environment. The

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family, then, changes to another rented apartment, with a larger number of rooms and larger internal area. Two years later, the dissatisfaction with the rent cost and the wish of a customized environment, takes the family to seek their own house. The family then decides to use the economies and a financing for the construction of the house. The wife's new professional opportunity takes the family to change to other city and to rent a house, while they wait for the sale of its previous house. A year later, with the amount obtained with the sale of the previous house, the family manages to buy a new house. Four years later, a new professional opportunity for the wife provokes family's return to the native city. The couple manages to buy the same residence that they had already lived previously, by means of a negotiation that carried about one year to be formalized. In this time the family lived in a rented apartment. Four years later, a robbery in the residence provokes the outing of the family house and rent of an apartment. The family remained living in this apartment for about a year and half, until formalized the sale of the previous house. About a year ago they acquired a new apartment, with high standard finishing and similar area of the previous house. Nowadays they are unsatisfied only with the distance regarding the childrens new school and of the working places, of both consorts, local of the old house.

Main correlation aspects among processes of mobility, choice and satisfaction: The experience of living next to the childrens school and to the working locals (previous house to the actual) provoked the only dissatisfaction with the current residence. The fundamental reason for the house change, the safety, became the larger influence item of the satisfaction the process with the current residence. The experience of already have lived in customized residential environments generated the need for a residence with high standard finishing, fundamental item in the last residential deciding process and in the current satisfaction.

Presentation of Variables
The analysis of the studied cases together with the pertinent bibliographical revision of the area allows a list of the main variables determinant of the demand behavior regarding the residence. About twelve variables make part of this set able to influence the processes of mobility, choice and residential satisfaction. Of these twelve variables, six exercise such influence in a more preponderant mode: stage of family life cycle, age, homeownership, family monthly income, family financial patrimony and motivation for the residence last change. The other six variables also influential on the behavior, however in a smaller degree of determination, are: marital status, educational level, professional occupation, staying time in the residence, family composition and family life style.

Marital Status
The marital status change generally takes to the behavior change regarding the residence. So much in the formation case as family dissolution, a residential change marks the beginning of a new stage of life. The widowhood state frequently generates a new intention change, although not always consolidated. We point out the fact that the family separation usually carries to the decrease of the family financial situation and the property condition change of the building for the rental market. In the case of the sons presences, there is a larger tendency of the wife stay with the sons at the same residence. The divorced women whose sons still live together tend to seek buildings near to the sons activities and to their working local. There is a larger preoccupation with the safety and the residence practicability, what explains the preference for apartments.

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Educational Level
A variable of indirect influence on the behavior, once the study sought to analyze families with similar socialeconomic characteristics and, therefore, with similar educational levels. It can be established that how much larger the family's head educational level, larger the tendency to changes induced by reasons related to profession. Among the studied cases, it can be realized that qualified people tend to use a larger number of opportunities in the professional field and, therefore, are more inclined to residential changes for reasons related to profession. Other indirect aspect of the educational level is linked to the financial condition. How much larger the educational level, larger the tendency for higher earnings of income, what also determines the behavior regarding the residence.

Time of Staying in the Building

This variable has a smaller influence on the behavior when compared to the others. It is directly related to the inhabitants age, once older inhabitants tend to consolidate social liaisons with the neighborhood and therefore own a more evident behavior of inertia regarding the residence change. The staying time also relates to the investments of personal character and financial regarding the habitation. How much larger is the personal, psychological and emotional investment of the family with the residence (generally the identity with the home becomes larger how much larger is the residence time), besides the financial investment (more expensive buildings), larger the tendency to inertia regarding the mobility.

Family Life Style

The present work opted for analyzing the family lifestyles using Shevky and Bell classical theory, afterwards adapted by several other authors (Hooimeijer and Oskamp, 1996). According to such theory, there is a behavioral sequence along life between career, family and consumption. The case studies proved this influence, intimately related to age and to the family financial condition. At the beginning of life the lifestyle is focused to the career, taking the changes and residential choices linked to the working local. With the family formation and the sons growth, the residence reflects the preoccupation with the family, with the consequent valorization of space, leisure area and location adequate to the family routine (sons schools, commerce, etc.). With the professional and financial consolidation along life, the lifestyle becomes focused to the consumption. The residence comes back to reflect this orientation by means of the finishing valorization, the local aesthetics, to the neighborhood status and the building standard.

Professional Occupation
Generally inhabitants at the beginning of the professional career tend to associate the residence with a location that offers better working opportunity. The professional occupation is a strong determinant of the induced residential mobility. In the case studies, there is a significant parcel of changes induced by reasons related to career. Besides the city change caused by the professional transfer, it also was registered changes inside the city for locals nearer to the work. The routine regarding the work also determines the residence local choice. However, such relation is more common in younger families and in the first stages of family life. When both

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consorts work, the residence location also becomes more valorised in comparison to families in which only the husband is employed.

Family Composition
As well as the band age, the family composition is intimately related to the stage of family life cycle. All the studied cases demonstrated the strong relation between change in the family composition and the residential mobility. The studies confirmed the tendency to a larger mobility in the decade after the family formation, corroborating several authors of the literature pertinent to the area. Something peculiar also focused to the family composition and confirmed in some cases, concerns to the residential change that occurs in anticipation to the change in family's size. For example, some families acquire residences with more space than they need, foreseeing the sons births in the subsequent years.

Age
Variable less determinant than stage of family life cycle, its influence is indirectly linked to the family financial matter. How much larger the age band, larger the tendency to the consolidation of the professional career and to the financial stability, that allows the access to a larger number of attributes desired to the residence. This tendency also takes to the accomplishment of a minor number of residential changes between older people, due to the access of more satisfactory buildings. It should be considered jointly the stage of the family life cycle, but we point out that people belonging to the same stage, however with different age bands, they can have different choices, as well as the same age people, however in different stages of life cycle can valorize different the building different attributes. The difference between these behaviors is explained essentially by the tendency to the largest financial stability between older people.

The inertia state regarding the residence change is larger between older people, due to largest tendency for social liaisons and personal and psychological investment in the residence (customization of environments and high standard of finishing). The studies did not confirm the preference tendency for necessarily smaller residences after the sons come out of home. Part of the older inhabitants do not give up the space for grandchildren leisure. Generally the residential satisfaction becomes to embody more the characteristics of building, in comparison to younger age bands. The tendency to the financial stability allows the buildings choice by larger standards, and the attributes search until then not satisfied in the previous buildings. Consequently the perception regarding technical-building aspects of the residence becomes more critical and demanding.

Homeownership
The first rent change for a homeownership constitutes the biggest event of the housing career. When acquiring the first residence, there is a natural tendency to the decrease of the residential mobility. The homeownership also exercises a strong influence on the relation environment-behavior. The inhabitant's identity with his residence becomes differentiated by means of the control of possible environmental modifications and the absence of risk situation of the building devolution.

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Motivation for the Last Residence Change

The attributes directly related to the stress with the last residence and, therefore, causers of the state of balance breaking of residential satisfaction, they are strong determinants of choice and satisfaction processes of the new residence. In all studied cases it was registered the attribute importance related to the last residential stress. For example, families who went out from the last residence by problems with the neighborhood turned the social composition of the neighborhood and the location the main criteria of the new habitation choice. When questioned about the satisfaction with the same, again the neighborhood arises as the larger influence factor on the satisfaction.

Family Monthly Income

The variable determinant of the behavior, the income influences the search, the choice and the satisfaction regarding the residence. As well as the literature divides itself before the income influence on the residential mobility, the cases studied also indicated the dubious relation between mobility and income. If by one side, while the families do not reach the financial stability, there is the probability of a larger number of changes due essentially to the rental contracts constraints, on the other hand, how much larger is the family financial capacity, larger its access possibility to a residence with larger number of the necessary considered attributes to the family, that would tend to decrease the residential mobility. Moreover, the financial capacity propitiates the investigation of a larger number of available options in the market. The family financial condition does not influence with preponderance the consideration of the residential change; however the income is determinant of the properly told change.

Family Financial Patrimony

Variable with strong influence on the behavior, it determines the change possibility and access to residences each time more satisfactory. The patrimony is formed along the time by means of the savings formation or by inheritances and donations. Several cases confirmed the tendency to the residence change after the inheritances receipt, especially for the purchase of the first residence. The studied cases also clearly indicated the double tendency of the residence as consumption and investment. The clear indication of the filtering up situation can be confirmed from the great part of the changes involving the accumulated patrimony starting from previous residences.

Family Life Cycle Stage

Corroborating a series of literature works, the studied cases indicated the family life cycle stage as one of the demand behavior great determinant variables, answering for a great part of the voluntary changes along the housing careers.Of the voluntary changes, there are the induced as those caused by formation or family dissolution (search of own space, marriage, divorce, widowhood) and the ones that generate the search for residential adjustments (examples: more space due to sons birth, space for children's leisure, project adaptation with privacy for teenagers sons, practicability search after the sons go out of home and proximity of sons after the widowhood). Each stage has a specific valorization of the residential attributes that generates at least a new intention of residence change and, frequently, in case there are available financial resources it provokes the

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properly said change. The Table 1 presents a synthesis of the main aspects of the demand behavior for each stage of the family life cycle.

Table 1: Synthesis of the main aspects of the demand behavior for life cycle stage

Family life cycle Stage

More characteristic typology of residence Parents house or rented apartment Rented or yield building

Attributes most valorized of the residence

Financial and professional aspects

More common aspects of mobility

Bachelor without sons

Work proximity and practicability

Beginning of the professional career Beginning of the professional career

Change for marriage

Couple without sons

Work proximity and practicability

Change to improve standard and to increase space Change for space or rent

Family with children

Rented (or not) house

Space, leisure area and next to schools

Tendency for expenses increase with the sons Professional career in consolidation

Family with teenagers

Own house

Space, design, next to schools and neighborhood

Change for neighborhood, location or standard Change for neighborhood, safety or standard

Family with adults

Own house or apartment

Adequate project, neighborhood, standard, safety, customization

Consolidated professional career

Couple whose sons left

Own house or apartment

Adequate project, space, standard, neighborhood, practicability, safety, customization Work proximity and of the sons

Retirement

Change for practicability, space, identity loss with the home Change for standard and space Change for sons proximity

Divorced without sounds living together Widower without sons living together

Rented (or not) apartment

Patrimony decrease

Own apartment

Sons proximity and safety

Retirement and pension receipt

Conclusion

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The general hypothesis of the work was confirmed from the methodology application of qualitative mark that investigated the housing careers of eighty family cores, proving not only the proposed method applicability and also the understanding possibility of the demand behavior from the joint vision of all the mobility processes, choice and satisfaction occurred along the life.

When modeling the behavior, the preferences are only part of the process. The housing market finds itself in constant flux, whose number of potential options are very high and the choice of a residence cannot be characterized inside the group of repeated choices. Therefore, so the choice models and also the preferred need to be supplemented by the rules that regularize the market and unites so the preferences and also choice to the changes in the offers market.

The work tries to supply subsidies on the demand behavior, aiming to contribute with the market and also with the academic area. In the present work case, having as focus the housing market focused to the average and high average classes, the demand behavior comprehension allows to contribute with a series of intervening involved in the productive process of the habitation, especially, designers, entrepreneurs and realtors. The determinant variables list of the demand behavior will be able to improve the conception and the design of new destined enterprises to that market segment, as well as the market new strategies elaboration.

In the academic scope, the work searches to contribute so conceptual as methodologically. Regarding the conceptual contribution, the work searches to initiate a researches new cycle on user's behavior of residential environments from the joint consideration of a series of concepts until then treated in fragmented mode, such as the residential choice, the residence purchase, the offer limitation, influence of the stage of family life cycle about the decision taking, the residential satisfaction, among others. The union of all of these concepts starting from a unique conceptual vision is proposed with the conceptuation of the housing career.

Moreover, the work also seeks to contribute methodologically, proposing a operationalization of the housing career concept. We point out that, in the national scenery, the researches that care for some demand behavior aspect, like the market researches and the customers satisfaction researches, generally do not consider the interrelation among mobility processes, choice and residential satisfaction. This is the work methodological proposal contribution, seeking to analyze such interrelations by means of the original investigation of housing careers.

The proposal demonstrates originality in the national scenery, where the researches related to the real estate theme have differentiated focuses from the presented in this work: user behavior studies focusing environmental psychology (including phenomenology matters, cognition and psychology in its evaluation methods) (Villa and Ornstein, 2006); studies about specific instruments in the investments area of real estate enterprises, or diagnostics of the real estate market, with focuses in specific financings as the Program of Residential Lease, or jobs that seek to apply consolidated methodologies as POE Post Occupancy Evaluation, specifically for the habitations sector of social interest (Braz, 2005).

The work also intends, thus, to provide information for other future researches that care for diverse aspects related to several demand behavior, like the market segmentation, researches about attributes hierarchy, between others. Although the work has focus in the income of the average classes, the conceptual vision behind the

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behavior is unique and applies for any user. Thus, although lower classes of income have a choice and formation process of differentiated satisfaction, we cannot exclude the notion that the identity relation with any residence is formed from the experiences previously lived. Thus, the user behavior comprehension of residential environments becomes essential for the guidelines formulation for any future housing projects.

The work also proposes to furnish subsidies for studies that seek the feedback of other stages of the construction process, such as the design adaptation, the execution improvement and the new strategies formulation of the real estate marketing.

References
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