Abstract
Multi-Criteria Analysis for Rental Property Search Using Preference Function Method Track: Business GIS Author(s): Rupali Kale, Yichun Xie A method is presented for multi-criteria analysis using two different families of preference functions for identifying non-subsidized rental properties to assist real estate agents and people seeking housing accommodations. The present study adds a new dimension to the existing rental property search tools by not only filtering apartments based on their characteristics but also comparing and ranking the properties based on neighborhood preferences such as the socio-economic status of the area, proximity to schools and highways, age of the apartment, proximity from work place, and others. Two methods of aggregation of dissimilar neighborhood characteristics will be presented and compared. The aggregation methods systematically combine dissimilar neighborhood characteristics into non-dimensional numbers that are used to rank the apartments filtered from the user input in step one. Further, the two schemes of assigning weights to neighborhood characteristics will be presented and their comparative evaluations demonstrated. Rupali Kale Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Transportation and Mobility Planning 1401 Broad St richmond , VA 23219 US Phone: (804) 371-8304 E-mail: rupali_kale@yahoo.com Yichun Xie Eastern Michigan University Geography & Geology 125 King Hall Ypsilanti , MI 48197 US Phone: (734) 487-7588 Fax: (734) 487-5394 E-mail: yxie@emich.edu |