Expectations vs. reality : understanding the phenomenon of buying on-plan and its implications for the residents

Abstract

This research delves into the phenomenon of buying property on-plan within the local context and its effects and implications primarily on the buyers, as well as the local property market. A deductive approach is considered for this research, whereby theoretical sources are identified and upon which a research framework is developed which in turn is utilized for the analysis to yield results. This is carried out by conducting semi-structured interviews with different selected professionals and homeowners, to tap into their experiences relating to buying their property on-plan. Parallels are drawn between the different accounts and several themes on the research topics that emerge are discussed within this dissertation. The two main topics that are reviewed in the literature review and carry on through the data collection and discussions chapter, are the phenomenon of buying property on-plan and the qualities that pertain to residential design which are the criteria being used to assess whether there is a mismatch between the expectations and the realities of the homeowners. Through this research, it is noted that shifts in the property market, due to economic fluctuations, influence greatly the workmanship of the property being constructed, as well as the buyer’s condition in life, which affects greatly in which type of property they invest, if at all. It is also observed that more people are becoming aware of the risks tied with buying property on-plan and this influences the number of people that are willing to invest in it, even though price is a key incentive. The roles of the real estate agent, the developer, and the architect are also explored from the homeowners’ perspective and the developer is usually the direct contact when buying property on-plan. The discussion mainly attributes the mismatch between the two to the lack of ability to read drawings and lack of visual aids which leaves the buyer with a vague idea of what they are buying and in fact, most of the participants agree that buyers struggle to conjure up expectations from viewing the drawings of the prospective properties.