A study of the factors determining residential location of IIUM employees of the Gombak Campus, Malaysia

Abstract

Mainstream residential location theories and models mainly consider the three factors of friction or distance from the work place, rent and house size as factors determining residential location. Although there are certain truths about such assumptions, it is clear that there may be other factors influencing residential location decision making. This research attempted to identify the array of factors and the extent to which they influence residential location of households. The scope of the research is narrowed down to employees of the International Islamic University Malaysia. The findings of the research illustrated the importance of the commuting costs in determining residential location. Rents on the other hand were found to have no influence on the residential location of respondents. Examining other variables for their impact on residential location brought forwards three additional factors: the location of the workplace of the spouse, home ownership and the respondents' duration of service at the current workplace. These factors are not taken into consideration in any of the land use structure models discussed earlier in the research but were found to have an influence on residential location choice of households.