The purpose of the present research is to find out whether houses better sell with a pool and a garage, with a garage only or with a pool only. Therefore, it is possible to formulate the hypotheses of the research as follows:
- Houses better sell with a garage only as the price is comparatively low (as compared to the other two types of houses) and the buyer gets the most important facility as families buying houses usually have at least one car.
- Houses with a garage and a pool sell better than houses with a pool only as families which can afford paying top dollar would prefer to have all the facilities (the most important (a garage) and extra facility (a pool)), whereas most families would try to save some money and buy what they really need (houses with a garage) for better price.
- The sales can largely depend on the area where the houses are located.
To prove the hypotheses of the present research, it is possible to measure several variables. In the first place, houses will be the variables to be measured. Of course, it is important to provide an operational definition of this variable. Thus, the house is a building with either a pool and a garage, a garage only or a pool only in which people can reside and which has been sold within the previous six months. To measure this variable, it can be effective to use ratio measurement scale. Therefore, the difference between the houses sales will be explicit. This measurement scale will help to prove the hypotheses of the research.
One more variable to be measured is the house price. It is possible to define this variable in the following way: price is the amount of money to be paid to become an owner of the house and to start living in it. Of course, it is possible to categorize this variable. In other words, nominal measurement scale can be used. It is possible to make three categories. There can be no precise price category so it is necessary to provide a range in each category (from … thousand dollars to … thousand dollars). Apart from this, it is also possible to make use of ratio measurement scale again. It can be useful to find out how these categories relate to each other. It is possible to define how many houses of each category have been sold within the mentioned period.
One more variable to be tested is area. Admittedly, houses in some areas can sell better than houses in other areas. However, before the measurement scale will be defined it is necessary to provide the operational definition of the variable. Thus, the area is a part of the city where the houses have been recently bought. To measure this variable it is possible to use the nominal measurement scale. It is necessary to make several categories. The categories will depend on the popularity of the area. For example, it is possible to use the following categories: ‘prestigious area’, ‘neutral area’ and ‘non-prestigious area’. Besides, it is possible to check how crucial the difference between the areas is. If it is insignificant, the area cannot influence the houses sales. Therefore, it is possible to measure the variable ‘area’ using ratio measurement scale as well.