ABSTRACT
This paper investigates how consumers belonging to the new middle class attach meaning to the acquisition of their own home in multi-family condominiums. An interpretative perspective was adopted, based on the theoretical assumptions of Consumer Culture Theory. The research was based on qualitative interviews with real estate buyers belonging to this segment of the population, whose acquisition occurred in the five years prior to the realization of the fieldwork. Qualitative content analysis was used as a method of data analysis and the analytical categories used emerged from the field. The results indicate that both the home itself and the common areas shared in the condominiums are represented in different ways. In addition, the study shows how informants articulate a symbolic organization of these spaces, built around the home / street dichotomy, with their mediation areas.
Keywords:
Home; New Emerging Middle Class; Symbolic Consumption; Emerging Consumers
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