DPU Working Paper - No. 73
Meeting The Demand For Housing, A Model For Establishing Affordability Parameters
27 July 1995
Authors: Babar Mumtaz
Publication Date: 1995
This paper introduces and describes the workings of a nomogram to calculate parameters for affordable housing. Whereas affordability models have been available for some time, many of these are computer based, and therefore remain inaccessible to many designers. Moreover, by being computer-based they are not very useful in teaching or demonstrating the relative impact of different variables on affordability, and therefore also of limited use to policy makers. The affordability model described here uses a series of inter-locked log-log tables to deal with a number of variables simultaneously. The model is proposed here as a tool for making decisions rather than establishing precise values, and is presented as a tool for preliminary analysis and to stimulate thinking about cost and affordability issues.