Preference Rankings on Several Attributes: Applications in Residential Site Selection

Abstract

Residential site selection, the process by which a migrant evaluates and chooses among housing opportunities, can be regarded as an example of multi-attribute decision making. If certain simple assumptions are made about the decision, preference rankings of the alternatives can be derived. A classification of these rankings is presented on the basis of preference between various combinations of attributes, and additive utility functions in accordance with the assumptions are noted. Applications of the structure to other kinds of decision are suggested, and extensions to other aspects of residential choice, such as search procedure, are outlined.