Household residential choice is shaped by housing attributes, economic conditions, and location, and household heterogeneity may lead to different outcomes from uniform housing policies. This study examines heterogeneity in the residential patterns of Tehran households in 2011, 2016, and 2024. Using housing transaction and household expenditure–income data, a conditional logit model was estimated to examine the effects of housing price, dwelling size, and distance from the city centre, incorporating interactions between household and housing characteristics. Household wealth was also used as an indicator of financial status to examine price sensitivity. The results show that housing attributes are associated differently with residential choice across household groups. Housing price has a negative and significant association for all groups and years, with its relative importance increasing compared with dwelling size in 2024. Dwelling size has a positive and significant association for all groups in 2011 and 2016, but only for single-person households and couples with children in 2024. Distance from the city centre is generally negatively associated with residential choice and is more important for single-parent and single-person households. The findings highlight the need for targeted housing policies that account for household structure, financial