The existing literature has documented that housing conditions, neighborhood characteristics, and socioeconomics are important determinants of residential satisfaction. However, the contribution of the actual usage of the residential environment to residential satisfaction has rarely been studied. To help fill in this gap, this study examines the contribution of the usage of housing and neighborhoods as well as the affective residential experience to residential satisfaction. We apply a subjective well-being framework and consider residential satisfaction and residential affective experience as two constituent components of the residential domain subjective well-being. Data were collected in Beijing from November 2011 to June 2012. The results show that home and neighborhood activities significantly affect residential satisfaction; higher levels of valence and activation of daily activities at home and in the neighborhood lead to more residential satisfaction.

The literature on residential mobility pays little attention to the outcomes of residential relocation and their determinants. This study aims to address this shortfall by examining the link between home relocation and change in residential satisfaction based on data from a two-wave sample survey in Beijing, China. The data is collected through interviews with a sample of 537 participants who planned to move and eventually did move in Beijing. A multi-level structural equation model is developed to analyse the determinants of change in residential satisfaction after home relocation. The results show that people generally become more satisfied with their residence after relocation. The major determinants of residential satisfaction changes are adjustments in housing conditions (including housing tenure and dwelling space) and neighbourhood environment (including physical design, absence of nuisance, social interaction and accessibility to various facilities). The findings of this research not only enrich the literature on residential satisfaction and residential mobility, but may also help to improve urban planning and public housing policies.

Housing affordability has become a critical challenge worldwide, consequently constraining young generation from entering the housing market. Despite growing attention to housing inequality in China, little research has been undertaken to reveal the extent to which a family of origin contributes to housing inequality among young adults. Family resources could support the young generation to achieve homeownership not only directly through intergenerational transfers of wealth, but also indirectly through intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic characteristics. Using the 2013 Fudan Yangtze River Delta Social Transformation Survey, this study constructs a structural equation model to examine the direct and indirect influence of parents’ resources on the young generation’s housing outcomes. The results show that the direct influence of parents’ homeownership is prominent, whereas the impact of transmitted socioeconomic status is limited. Housing advantages of parents, derived from their superior institutional status during China’s housing reforms, are being transmitted to their offspring, particularly to sons.