Architects and non-architects: differences in perception of property design

This study is an analysis of the perceptions of experts and non-experts in the building industry concerning a series of real estate promotions in the city of Valencia (Spain). Differential semantics were used to obtain a set of 7 dimensions or affective responses which users employ to assess real estate offerings. Two global evaluations were obtained, differentiating between purchase for residential or investment purposes. The fieldwork was done on a sample of 160 individuals (80 architects and 80 non-architects) who were asked to give their opinion on physical stimuli which included information from real estate promotion advertising brochures. Linear regression was used to estimate 4 predictive models to estimate overall customer assessment of a given offering based on an evaluation of different dimensions or affective responses. The results show different responses in both groups and for the two global assessment variables. Differential semantics appears to be a good instrument for measuring the subjective component of consumers’ emotional states. It is an emotional design technique which provides infor- mation on the emotions an object generates by capturing the affective meaning the user attaches to it.