Volume 4 Number 1
December/January 2007
In this Issue
Action Plan Achieves Objectives and Promotes Energy Efficiency
Research Partnerships Forge Bonds Between Communities and Universities
Exploring New Housing Information
In the next issue of ResearchWorks
Exploring New Housing Information
In June 2006, HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau began releasing the results of the 2005 national American Housing Survey (AHS), which updates the type, age, location, condition, and cost of housing in America.
The AHS gathers data on renters and homeowners, household composition and income, housing conditions and structural characteristics, neighborhoods, financing and housing costs, monthly housing expenses, and the overall availability of affordable housing. The Census Bureau conducts the nationwide survey of approximately 60,000 housing units every 2 years and a metropolitan survey of 3,500 housing units every 6 years. An unusual and important aspect of the AHS is that the same housing units are visited each time, ensuring continuity in the history of America's housing. The survey also adds newly constructed housing units each survey year to ensure that the sample represents all housing in the United States.
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Source: U.S. Housing Market Conditions, Second Quarter 2006, p. 6. |
A Profile of America's Housing
The American housing stock consists of more than 124 million housing units, of which approximately 15 million are vacant or for seasonal use. Of the 108.9 million occupied units, 68.8 percent are owner-occupied, up from the 68.2 percent rate recorded in 2003. The ratio of homeowners to renters is 2 to 1.
Types of Homes
Homeowners generally live in single-family housing; occupy fairly new homes; live in the suburbs of metropolitan areas; and live in homes with between four and six rooms, three or more bedrooms, and one or more complete bathrooms. Single-family units account for 75 percent of the nation’s housing stock. The most popular housing units are detached units (68%), followed by attached multifamily units (25%), and manufactured (mobile) homes (7%). The most common multifamily structure, accounting for approximately 30 percent of all multifamily buildings, has two to four units. At the opposite end of the size continuum, 17 percent of the multifamily housing stock is in large structures with 50 or more units.
Age
American housing stock is relatively new. About one-third of the units have been built since 1980. The median construction date of 1970 indicates that half of the housing units are less than 35 years old.
Location
Housing is generally located in metropolitan areas (74 percent of the stock), and 60 percent of these units are in suburban areas outside central cities. Regionally, the South has the greatest number (46 million) and proportion (37%) of housing units. The Northeast has the fewest, with 23 million units (18 percent of all housing units). These percentages have changed little from the 2003 AHS.
Housing Location |
Units* |
% of Total
Housing Stock |
Metropolitan areas
Inside central cities
Suburban
Outside metropolitan
areas
Northeast
Midwest
South
West |
91,625,000
35,537,000
56,089,000
32,752,000
22,839,000
28,642,000
46,400,000
26,496,000
|
73.7
28.6
45.1
26.3
18.4
23.0
37.3
21.3
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Source: U.S. Housing Market Conditions, Second Quarter 2006, p. 6.
*Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding. |
Condition
American housing units — especially owner-occupied units — have few deficiencies. Of the 108.9 million occupied units in the United States, about 1 million have holes in the floors; the incidence is lower for owner-occupied units (0.7%) than for renter-occupied units (1.5%). Open cracks or holes in interior walls are more prevalent — 5.3 million occupied units reported this deficiency — with the incidence for renters (7.2%) almost twice that of owners (3.7%). Electrical deficiencies are very rare. Only 50,000 households reported that they have no electrical wiring, and 700,000 reported that they have exposed wiring. The lack of electrical outlets in one or more rooms occurs in 1.5 million homes.
Selected Housing
Deficiencies
(Occupied Units) |
Total
Units* |
Owner-
Occupied
Units |
Renter-
Occupied
Units |
Holes in floors
Open cracks or holes (interior)
Broken plaster or peeling paint
(interior)
No electrical
wiring
Exposed wiring
Rooms without
electrical outlets |
983,000
5,251,000
2,221,000
50,000
700,000
1,546,000 |
489,000
2,797,000
1,057,000
40,000
459,000
898,000 |
494,000
2,454,000
1,163,000
10,000
242,000
647,000 |
Source: U.S. Housing Market Conditions, Second Quarter 2006, p. 7.
*Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding. |
Cost
As might be expected, median monthly housing costs have increased since 2003 (by 2%). Housing costs for renters include contract rent, property insurance, and utilities. Housing costs for owners include mortgage (or installment loan) payments, property insurance, real estate taxes, fees (association, condominium, or cooperative), park fees for manufactured (mobile) homes, land rents, routine maintenance, and utilities. For all housing units, the median monthly housing cost is $761 per month, with a median cost of $855 for owners and $692 for renters. Although the median housing cost burden (the proportion of income spent on housing) is 21 percent, renters pay a median of 28 percent of their incomes, whereas owners pay only 20 percent.
Housing costs vary significantly among regions. The lowest median monthly housing costs are in the South ($657) and the Midwest ($707); the highest are in the West ($950) and the Northeast ($862).
A Wealth of Housing Information
The printed version of the 2005 AHS report contains nearly 500 pages describing America's housing units. In addition to having chapters on all housing units and occupied housing units, the report has separate chapters on owner-occupied units, renter-occupied units, African-American households, Hispanic households, and households consisting of elderly people.
Each chapter contains a set of data tables covering general housing characteristics, building height and condition, unit and lot size, equipment and plumbing, fuels, housing-quality indicators, neighborhood, household composition, recent movers, reasons for moving, income, housing costs, value, price, source of downpayments, number of rooms, square footage, detailed tenure, income details, detailed housing costs, structure type, climate, journey to work, and units in structure.
Accessing Housing Information
HUD and the Census Bureau give high priority to making the AHS data accessible. AHS tabulations are available in hard-copy and CD-ROM formats, and as Portable Document Format and HTML files. Internet users may download the information in tabular and microdata formats. The microdata files (in ASCII or SAS formats) are also available on CD-ROM. The microdata can be used to create customized or user-specified tables and to perform multivariate analyses.
Hard-copy and CD-ROM versions of the AHS survey data are available at minimal cost by contacting HUD USER at 800.245.2691 and selecting option 1, or by sending your request to HUD USER, P.O. Box 23268, Washington, DC 20026–3268. Users can also purchase national AHS reports from the U.S. Government Printing Office by calling 202.512.1800. The metropolitan area reports can be obtained from the Census Bureau by calling 301.763.4636 or writing to the Census Bureau, Washington, DC 20233–8500. The information is also available from the HUD USER and Census Bureau websites at www.huduser.org/datasets/ahs.html and www.census.gov/hhes/www/ahs.html, respectively. Another version of this article appeared in the Second Quarter 2006 issue of U.S. Housing Market Conditions, available at www.huduser.org/periodicals/ushmc.html or in print by calling HUD USER at 800.245.2691 and selecting option 1.
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