[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 78 (Monday, April 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 20980]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6042]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    DOC has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
clearance the following proposal for collection of information under 
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Survey of Housing Starts, Sales, and Completions.
    Form Number(s): SOC-Q1/SF.1; SOC-Q1/MF.1.
    Agency Approval Number: 0607-0110.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Burden: 14,688 hours.
    Number of Respondents: 28,200.
    Avg Hours Per Response: 5 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau is requesting an extension 
of the currently approved collection for the Survey of Housing Starts, 
Sales, and Completions, otherwise known as the Survey of Construction 
(SOC). Government agencies and private companies use statistics from 
SOC to monitor and evaluate the large and dynamic housing construction 
industry. Data for two principal economic indicators are produced from 
the SOC: New Residential Construction (housing starts and housing 
completions) and New Residential Sales. In addition, a number of other 
statistical series are produced, including extensive information on the 
physical characteristics of new residential buildings, and indexes 
measuring rates of inflation in the price of new buildings. These 
statistics are based on a sample of residential buildings in permit-
issuing places and a road canvass in a sample of land areas not covered 
by building permit systems.
    The field representatives (FRs) mail forms SOC-QI/SF.1 and SOC-QI/
MF.1 to the respondents to complete. A few days later, the FRs either 
call or visit the respondents to enter their survey responses into a 
laptop computer using the Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing 
(CAPI) software formatted for the SOC-QI/SF.1 and SOC-QI/MF.1 forms. 
The respondents are homebuilders, real estate agents, rental agents, or 
new homeowners of sampled residential buildings. FR's contact 
respondents multiple times based on the number of projects in the 
sample and the number of months required to complete the project. 
Approximately 28,200 new buildings are added to our sample each year. A 
total of 176,250 responses are collected annually from all respondents. 
The Census Bureau uses the information collected in the SOC to publish 
estimates of the number of new residential housing units started, under 
construction, completed, and the number of new houses sold and for 
sale. The Census Bureau also publishes many financial and physical 
characteristics of new housing units. Government agencies use these 
statistics to evaluate economic policy, measure progress towards the 
national housing goal, make policy decisions, and formulate 
legislation. For example, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System uses data from this survey to evaluate the effect of interest 
rates in this interest-rate sensitive area of the economy. The Bureau 
of Economic Analysis uses the data in developing the Gross Domestic 
Product (GDP). The private sector uses the information for estimating 
the demand for building materials and the many products used in new 
housing and to schedule production, distribution, and sales efforts. 
The financial community uses the data to estimate the demand for short-
term (construction loans) and long-term (mortgages) borrowing.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit, Individuals or 
households.
    Frequency: Monthly.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. 182.
    OMB Desk Officer: Susan Schechter, (202) 395-5103.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202)482-0266, Department of Commerce, room 6625, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 
[email protected]). Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to Susan Schechter, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-
395-7245) or e-mail ([email protected]).

    Dated: April 18, 2006.
Madeleine Clayton,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E6-6042 Filed 4-21-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P