Exploring People’s Preferences for Cohousing after Retirement Using Choice Based Conjoint Analysis in Korea

In Korea, starting mid-1990s, issues concerning aging society have been growing. Since 2000 housing researchers in Korea have recognized these social issues as needs for new form of living. In this context, cohousing has been receiving special attention as an alternative living space for aged people in Korean society. However, still, the types of cohousing preferred by aging people are not well investigated. In this vein, in this paper, we examined Korean people’s preferences for cohousing characteristics after retirement using choice based conjoint analysis with special attention to multi-ethnic and multi-cultural factor in cohousing context. This choice based conjoint analysis provided hypothetical cohousing choice options generated by orthogonal experimental design with the middle aged Korean people and elicited their preferences for various attributes of cohousing based on people’s choice results. The results from the conjoint analysis revealed that a cohousing managed by service provider, with members of different religious attitude and diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, with members who consist of friends, people sharing the same hobby, or people recruited openly is more preferred.