Housing affordability, quality of life, and residential satisfaction in the Austrian cross-border suburban region of Bratislava, Slovakia

Abstract

Abstract Bratislava’s satellites have experienced massive development in recent years. The population of a regional centre has moved into its Slovak hinterland. However, Bratislava’s cross-border suburbs have recorded spectacular population growth too. After 2008, housing in the EU became more affordable due to rising incomes and decreasing bank interest rates. Yet, the housing affordability index in the EU (and in the studied area) decreased in recent years due to increasing property prices and, more recently, a reverse tendency in bank interest rates. Through a questionnaire, we sought to establish a link between housing affordability and suburban residents’ expected quality of life. We assumed that a large proportion of the population had moved here specifically for a higher quality of life (residential satisfaction) and more affordable housing. Indeed, these were among the most common reasons for moving, with a large proportion of respondents choosing at least one. The Mann-Whitney U test showed that residents who moved to the Austrian suburbs of Bratislava for affordable housing were more satisfied with living in the municipality and housing costs. The article tries to fill the gap in the literature on housing affordability in suburban areas and on the quality of life of cross-border suburban residents.