Housing and Construction Data from the Census Bureau

McCormick SRI: Going Deep with Census Demographic and Economic Data

Dr. Arthur R CresceAssistant Division Chief for Housing Characteristics

U.S. Census Bureau

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Goals of Presentation

• Key sources of housing data we produce• Kinds of data these sources produce• Strengths and limitations of these sources• Some ideas for stories • How to access these data 

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Key Points to Keep in Mind Using Census Data

Tradeoffs among:

• Geographic detail

• Characteristic detail

• Frequency of data collection

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Key Sources of Housing Data

• American Housing Survey

• 2010 Census and the American Community Survey

• “Other” sources of data on housing characteristics

• Construction Statistics Program

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About the American Housing Survey (AHS)

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Inception of the AHS• A 1968 Presidential Commission on Housing

found that there was not enough information on the dynamics and condition of the housing stock, especially between censuses

• In 1971 Congress authorized the AHS- 1973 - first National AHS- 1974 - first Metro AHS

• Sponsored by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

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AHS Today• National survey currently conducted every

two years• Largest regular national housing survey in the

United States- National sample - about 50,000 households with new

construction added each survey year

• Selected metropolitan areas surveyed every 4 to 6 years - almost 50 metro in sample at some time over last 30 years

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Just some subject areas

Neighborhood quality, Neighborhood problems, Crime, Litter, Pollution,Internal and External Building Condition

Residential alterations and home repairs

Household education, income and race/ethnicity

Mortgage financing, Rent controls &Rent subsidiesUtilities and energy usage

Inventory composition,Units in structure, Square footage

The homes people left, and why they moved here

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Another Unique Feature of the AHS

• The AHS has had the same panel in sample since 1985.

• This allows researchers to track the same housing unit over an almost 30 year span.

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Housing Characteristics in the American Community Survey (ACS)

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• Type of unit• Tenure (own or rent)• Age of structure• Number of rooms• Housing Value• Taxes & Insurance• Utilities• Mortgage/Monthly Rent • Etc.

Housing Characteristics in Census 2010

• Occupancy Status• Vacancy Status• Housing tenure (rented,

owned)

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Strengths and Limitations: 2010-ACS-AHSCensus 2010 ACS AHS

Minimal housing characteristics – totals, occupancy status, housing tenure, vacancy status

Basic housing characteristics covering a range of housing topics

Very detailed housing characteristics, including characteristics of neighborhood

Very detailed geography – down to the block level

1-year - areas 65K or more3-year - areas of 20K or more5-year – down to block group

National, regional, and some metro areas

Counts and characteristics obtained at one point in time

Surveys units over a 12-month period

Survey provides information for a point in time and also longitudinally

Data collected and released once every 10 years

Data collected and released every year

Data collected and released every 2 years (national) and 4-6 years (specific metros)

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“Other” Sources of Housing Data

• Housing Vacancy Survey (Current Population Survey)

• Survey of Market Absorption (SOMA)• New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey• Rental Housing Finance Survey• Survey of Income and Program Participation• Population Division Estimates Program

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Ideas for News StoriesAbout Housing Data

• Availability and affordability of housing• Quality of housing and neighborhoods• Characteristics of the home and how it may be

changing over time• Amenities in the home and in the community• Types of mortgages used to finance homes

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2008 ACS – Single Year Data – National Level

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2009 ACS – Single Year Data – National Level

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• Residential building permits• Housing starts and completions• New home sales• Characteristics of new housing• Construction spending• Manufactured home placements

The Census Bureau’s Manufacturing and Construction Division

Produces a Variety of Statistics on Residential Construction

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Two Surveys are Used to Measure New Residential Construction and Sales

• Building Permits Survey (BPS)

Voluntary monthly and annual mail surveys of the 20,000 localpermit-issuing jurisdictions in the U.S. (Internet reporting available this summer)

Tracks the number of new privately-owned structures authorizedby building or zoning permits

• Survey of Construction (SOC)

Voluntary monthly telephone/personal interview survey ofbuilders/owners of selected buildings (about 1 in 50 new units are sampled)

Provides data on housing starts, housing completions, new home sales,prices, and characteristics of new housing units

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New Residential Construction• Monthly Principal Economic Indicator Release• Data for All Units and Single-family Units• Usually released on the 12th working day of the month

at 8:30am ET• Available at www.census.gov/starts•Monthly seasonally adjusted data on Permits,

Starts, Completions, and Units under Construction • Annual revisions with April release each May• Historic data available

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New Residential Construction -Strengths (Building Permits)

• Are a component of the Conference Board’s U.S. Leading Economic Index, and are a leading construction indicator

• Are public records and provide timely local data: Data are released on the 18th workday of the

following month for States, Metro Areas, counties, and local jurisdictions

Have a large monthly sample, and annual data for all 20,000 jurisdictions are released each year on May 1st

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New Residential Construction -Strengths (Survey of Construction)

• Includes areas where permits are not required

• Response rates are high because field enumerators collect data by observation

• Provides detailed annual data on characteristics of new housing – released each year on June 1st

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New Residential Construction –Limitations

• Data other than permits are available only for the 4 Census Regions

• Confidence intervals for data other than permits are very large due to the small SOC sample size

• Estimates for multifamily units often show large month-to-month fluctuations because all units in the building are counted together:

as authorized when the permit is issued as started when excavation begins for the foundation as completed when half are ready for occupancy

• Single-family houses are considered completed when the finished flooring has been installed

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New Residential Sales• Monthly Principal Economic Indicator Release• Commonly called “New Home Sales”• Usually released on the 17th working day of the

month at 10:00am ET• Available at www.census.gov/newhomesales • Monthly seasonally adjusted data on New Houses

Sold and For Sale• Median and Average Sales Prices of New Houses Sold• Annual revisions with April release each May• Data available back to 1963

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• Only source of national data on sales of new homes• Based on contract signings, not closings, to provide a

leading indicator Data on sales of existing homes, from the National

Association of Realtors (www.realtor.org) are not directly comparable because they measure closings

• Response rates are high because field enumerators collect data by observation if the respondent does not participate

• Price indexes of new houses sold and under construction measure inflation in home prices

New Residential Sales -Strengths

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• Data available only for the 4 Census Regions• Confidence intervals are very large due to the small SOC

sample size• Includes only homes where the house and land are sold

as a package• Includes only single-family homes and townhouses, not

condominium units• Does not capture sales cancellations• Larger revisions due to high initial imputation for houses

where contracts are signed before thepermit is issued and sampled

New Residential Sales –Limitations

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Many Sources are Used to MeasureTotal Construction Spending

• Construction Progress Reporting Surveys (CPRS) Mail surveys of owners of sampled construction projects Data collected on:

Privately-owned nonresidential construction projects Privately-owned multifamily residential buildings State and local construction projects (highways, schools, etc.) Federal construction projects (military bases, public housing, etc.)

• Examples of Other Sources of Data: Data for new single-family housing are derived from the SOC Data on residential remodeling are collected in the

Census Bureau’s Consumer Expenditures Survey Data on railroad construction are provided by the Surface Transportation Board Data on cable television construction are from industry trade association

statistics

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Construction Spending• Monthly Principal Economic Indicator Release• Commonly called “Value of Construction Put in Place (VIP)”• Usually released on the 1st working day of the month

at 10:00am ET• Available at www.census.gov/constructionspending• Data available by type of construction• Monthly seasonally adjusted data available •Annual revisions with May release each July • Data available back to 1964

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• Estimates the total amount of money spent on allconstruction in the United States

• Feeds directly into the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) • Total dollar value of all construction work:

Residential and nonresidential Buildings and non-building projectsPrivately-financed construction Publicly-financed construction (Federal, state and local) New construction Improvements, additions, and alterations

• Includes work in progress – not just completed projects

Construction Spending-Strengths

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Construction Spending–Limitations

• Data available for the U.S. total only• Series for some types of construction have breaks when

new classifications were introduced in 1993 • Monthly data on residential remodeling are forecast

because the Consumer Expenditure Survey is quarterly, and are subject to larger revisions than other series

• Remodeling data include only owner-occupied properties and exclude remodeling funded by insurance claims

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Manufactured Home Placements The Manufactured Housing Survey (MHS) collects data on new manufactured (mobile) homes, which are not included in the other construction data series:

• Measures the number of manufactured homes placed on sites for residential use and in dealers’ inventories

• Includes homes inspected at the factory by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD-code homes”)

• A monthly voluntary phone survey of individual units shipped to dealers sampled from the factory inspection reports

• Gathers data on prices and characteristics• Data available for the U.S. and the 4 Census Regions• Monthly data available seasonally adjusted• Available at www.census.gov/const/www/mhsindex.html

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Ideas for News StoriesAbout Construction Data

• News stories tend to overstate the significance ofthe change in the latest monthly estimate, which is often not statistically significant

A better story would look at trends over several months

• The press may overstate the impact of weather on the numbers; bad weather rarely affects an entire region

Use local building permit data to provide a local angle

• The impact of government stimulus programs or budget cuts can be seen in data on public construction spending

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For More Details onCensus Bureau Housing and

Construction Data:

Census Bureau Public Information Office301-763-3030

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