A MODEL FOR MEASURING EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES’ ON RENTAL VALUES OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES IN KADUNA METROPOLIS, NIGERIA

Environmental features, has potentially significant effects on environments and their populations, thus it is important to understand its drivers and how to measure them. The aim of this study is to develop a model for measuring the effects of environmental features on rental values of residential properties in Kaduna Metropolis with a view to establish the most sustainable attributes that significantly contribute to change in rental values in order to guide in making the best real estate investment decisions. To achieve this aim, five objectives were developed to determine the environmental features' quality provided in rented residential properties, assess the average rental values of residential properties, examine the condition of property features provided in the rented residential properties, and assess the effect of environmental features and property features in determining variation in rental values of residential property in Kaduna metropolis. The population of the study is 9,545. The study adopted quantitative research approaches and survey strategy. Structured questionnaires were distributed to 382 respondents. The data was analysed using mean ranking, frequency distribution tables and multiple regression analysis. The result revealed that, the average (Mean) rent paid in different types of rented residential properties in Kaduna metropolis, Nigeria, stands for flat ₦436,093, bungalow ₦547,043 and tenement ₦116,083. Meanwhile, the overall result of the conditions of physical features (tangibles) provided in the rented residential properties, indicate a good result in Kaduna metropolis. Also the overall result of conditions of non-physical features (intangibles) provided in the rented residential properties in Kaduna metropolis indicates a good condition. The study found that only two independent variables (Housing Non Physical Characteristics and Environmental Locational Proximity) were statistically significant, while the other two (HCPS and LPS) were statistically insignificant. The overall model performance showed an R-squared of approximately 69.91%, indicating that the independent variables collectively account for a proportion of the total variation observed in the (rent). The study recommends that property owners/developers should continue to prioritize regular maintenance and timely repairs of fundamental property elements, as this ensures tenant satisfaction, and increases turnover.