American Housing Survey (AHS)

Purpose

To provide a current and continuous series of data on selected housing and demographic characteristics.

Policy analysts, program managers, budget analysts, and Congressional staff use AHS data to monitor supply and demand, as well as changes in housing conditions and costs, in order to assess housing needs. Analyses based on the AHS are used to advise the executive and legislative branches in the development of housing policies. HUD uses the AHS to improve efficiency and effectiveness and design housing programs appropriate for different target groups, such as first-time home buyers and the elderly. Academic researchers and private organizations also use AHS data in efforts of specific interest and concern to their respective communities.

Type of respondents

• Occupied Housing Units – A household respondent, who must be a knowledgeable household member 16 years of age or over, provides information on the unit, the household composition, and income. We prefer to select the reference person or spouse as the household respondent.
• Vacant Housing Units – A landlord, owner, real estate agent, or knowledgeable neighbor can provide data on the unit.

Sponsoring agency and legal authorities

HUD sponsors the survey under the authority of Title 12, United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 1701z-1, 1701z-2(g), and 1701z-10a. The U.S. Census Bureau performs the work under the authority of Title 13, United States Code, Section 8. Title 13 U.S.C., Section 9 requires us to keep all information collected strictly confidential.

Periodicity

The AHS is conducted biennially between May and September in odd-numbered years. We collect data between the months of May and September. HUD sometimes adjusts this schedule and/or sample depending on budget constraints.

Release of results

Public use microdata and reports are released approximately 12 months after data collection.

Historical background

The first AHS was conducted in 1973, under the name the Annual Housing Survey, with a sample size of 60,000 housing units. The survey was conducted on an annual basis from 1973 to 1981. Due to budget constraints, it became biennial, therefore changing its name to the American Housing Survey. The national sample underwent a redesign in 1985 based on data from the 1980 decennial census, with a base sample size of approximately 47,000 housing units. In 2005, the national sample was improved in two ways. Mobile home coverage was adjusted by replacing the units currently in the sample with mobile homes selected from Census 2000 and assisted living housing units selected from Census 2000 were introduced into the sample, thereby improving coverage of the elderly population.

The paper questionnaire was eliminated in 1997. All interviews from that point on were conducted by computer –assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) using laptop computers. The 1997 AHS National-level data were also the first AHS data processed under a redesigned system using SAS software. In 2007, the newly converted Blaise CAPI survey instrument was adopted. A Spanish version of the instrument was first implemented in 2009.

Special features

Beginning with the 2011 AHS, the survey instrument will consist of a permanent core questionnaire plus topical supplements that will rotate in and out of the questionnaire on a yet to be determined schedule.

Outlook

Current plans call for a complete AHS sample redesign beginning with the 2015 survey. As a result, data from the new sample will not be comparable with those from the previous sample.