Identification of significant factors influencing housing cost in Yemen

Abstract

PurposeThe cost of housing is very high in Yemen compared with Middle East countries, which has caused a shortage of housing supply, especially for the low‐income group. The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that are significantly influencing housing cost in Yemen.Design/methodology/approachThe study surveyed 60 professionals in housing in Yemen, to identify factors influencing housing cost that are related to land, materials used, construction methods used, finishing works, and other factors/related issues. The questionnaire survey instrument consisted of 32 factors, which were grouped into these five categories. The level of importance was measured and the relative importance of weightage was ranked for all five categories.FindingsThis study found that cost of project land, cost of cement and steel for reinforced concrete are the most significant factors influencing housing cost in Yemen.Originality/valueBased on the analysis of the ranking and intensity of housing cost factors, this paper further suggests possible improvements for decreasing the housing cost in Yemen. These recommendations are hoped to increase more regulated housing development and housing policy.

Phase-based analysis of key cost and schedule performance causes and preventive strategies

“…Assaf et al (1995) conducted a questionnaire survey based on a review of literature and interviews for large building projects in Saudi Arabia. Similarly, many researchers (Alaghbari et al, 2012;Assaf and Al-Hejji, 2006;Enshassi et al, 2009;Faridi and El-Sayegh, 2006;Iyer and Jha, 2005;Kaliba et al 2009;Larsen et al 2016;Sambasivan and Soon, 2007;Yang and Wei, 2010) framed their research methodology based on conducting questionnaire surveys, but chose different sets of performance factors and data collection practices.…”

“…According to Assaf et al (1995) and Mezher and Tawil (1998), material-related factors which affect the performance of a project can be attributed to material shortage, material changes, transportation and shipment, impairment and manufacturing of materials. Among these material-related factors, material shortage is cited most often as a KPF in many studies (Alaghbari et al, 2012;Chan and Kumaraswamy, 1997;Okpala and Aniekwu, 1988;Sambasivan and Soon, 2007). As mentioned by Sambasivan and Soon (2007), in some developing countries such as Indonesia, where demand exceeds supply, the prices of materials rise and force contractors to postpone purchases until the price goes down.…”

Small firm performance: an empirical analysis in Malaysian housing construction industry

“…The construction industry contributes significantly to the socio-economic development and the quality of life of a country. Housing has a great influence on a society's education, health, environment, economy and political aspects (Alaghbari et al, 2012) and helps in enhancing Malaysia economy (Ismael et al, 2009). The development and the importance of the construction sector in Malaysia are coherent with what is happening in other countries, including developed countries.…”

Incompetent Construction Technologies and Resources in the Construction Industry of Yemen

“…The relatively expensive and inefficient labour-intensive methods with low productivity have led contractors to invest in labourbased 3 construction. Alaghbari (2010) and Alaghbari et al (2012) found that materials costs were in the top significant factors influencing construction costs in Yemen. These materials were steel for reinforced concrete and cement.…”

“…Additionally, regarding to construction methods that used in Yemen, Alaghbari et al (2012) identified that the concrete frame system preferred to be used in Yemen while the conventional method system still used widely. Although the concrete frame is one of the significant factors influencing construction costs in Yemen that is because of steel and cement costs.…”