Dec 22 -- The Office of the Policy Development and Research, HUD, invites comments to OMB by February 6, 2023 regarding the 2023 American Housing Survey. [Comments received for 30 days after AHS submission to OMB on January 6, 2023].
The purpose of the American Housing Survey (AHS) is to supply the public with detailed and timely information about housing quality, housing costs, and neighborhood assets, in support of effective housing policy, programs, and markets. Title 12, United States Code, Sections 1701Z-1, 1701Z-2(g), and 1710Z-10a mandates the collection of this information.
Like the previous surveys, the 2023 AHS will collect “core” data on subjects, such as the amount and types of changes in the housing inventory, the physical condition of the housing inventory, the characteristics of the occupants, housing costs for owners and renters, mortgages, the persons eligible for and beneficiaries of assisted housing, remodeling and repair frequency, reasons for moving, the number and characteristics of vacancies, and characteristics of resident's neighborhood. In addition to the “core” data, HUD plans to collect supplemental data on potential health and safety hazards in the home, housing insecurity, perceptions of urbanization, sexual orientation and gender identity, parent's country of birth, first-generation home ownership, housing characteristics that increase heat vulnerability, and experience and consequences of power outages.
In 2015, the AHS began a new longitudinal panel. The sample design has two components: an integrated longitudinal national sample, and an independent metropolitan areas longitudinal sample. The integrated longitudinal national sample includes three parts: (1) 36,610 national cases representative of the U.S. and 9 Census Divisions outside the top 15 metropolitan areas; (2) 12,068 HUD-assisted oversample cases; and (3) 48,273 sample cases of the top 15 metropolitan areas in the U.S. The total integrated longitudinal national sample for 2021 will consist of 96,951 housing units. In addition to the integrated national longitudinal sample, HUD plans to conduct 10 additional metropolitan area longitudinal samples, each with approximately 3,000 housing units (for a total 32,830 metropolitan area housing units). The 10 additional metropolitan area longitudinal samples were last surveyed in 2019.
To help reduce respondent burden on households in the longitudinal sample, the 2023 AHS will make use of dependent interviewing techniques, which will decrease the number of questions asked. Policy analysts, program managers, budget analysts, and Congressional staff use AHS data to advise executive and legislative branches about housing conditions and the suitability of public policy initiatives. Academic researchers and private organizations also use AHS data in efforts of specific interest and concern to their respective communities.
HUD needs the AHS data for the following two reasons:
1. With the data, policy analysts can monitor the interaction among housing needs, demand and supply, as well as changes in housing conditions and costs, to aid in the development of housing policies and the design of housing programs appropriate for different target groups, such as first-time home buyers and the elderly.
2. With the data, HUD can evaluate, monitor, and design HUD programs to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
AHS (Census):
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs.html
AHS (HUD):
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/ahs.html
HUD submission to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202211-2528-001 Click IC List for survey instrument, View Supporting Statement for technical documentation. Submit comments through this site.
FR notice inviting comment:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-27781
For AEA members wishing to submit comments to OMB, the AEA Committee on Economic Statistics offers "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806