[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 22 (Friday, February 1, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7443-7445]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E3-2013-2261]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5695-N-01]


Request for Comment on the Redesign of the American Housing 
Survey

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and 
Research, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the intent of the Department of Housing 
and Urban Development (HUD) to redesign the American Housing Survey 
(AHS) for 2015 and later years. As part of this redesign, HUD is 
soliciting public comments. HUD is interested in all comments, 
especially from government policy makers, academic researchers, and AHS 
data users that specify: (1) Concerns related to redesigning the AHS 
sample; (2) important content that should be added to the AHS to meet 
current and future housing data needs; (3) current content that is no 
longer relevant, or has limited usefulness; and (4) ideas for expanding 
the dissemination of the AHS data. To aid in the development of public 
comments, HUD has listed questions that have been posed by AHS survey 
managers and current AHS users. HUD encourages persons interested in 
commenting to consider these questions and to propose additional 
questions or provide additional topics HUD should take into 
consideration.

DATES: Comments Due Date: April 2, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposal. Comments must refer to the above docket number and 
title. There are two methods for submitting public comments.
    1. Submission of Comments by Mail. Comments may be submitted by 
mail to Shawn Bucholtz, Director, Housing and Demographic Analysis 
Division, Office of Policy Development and Research, Department of 
Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th St. SW., Room 8222, Washington, 
DC 20410.
    2. Electronic Submission of Comments. Interested persons may submit 
comments electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
www.regulations.gov. HUD strongly encourages commenters to submit 
comments electronically. Electronic submission of comments allows the 
commenter maximum time to prepare and submit a comment, ensures timely 
receipt by HUD, and enables HUD to make them immediately available to 
the public. Comments submitted electronically through the 
www.regulations.gov Web site can be viewed by other commenters and 
interested members of the public. Commenters should follow the 
instructions provided on that site to submit comments electronically.

    Note:  To receive consideration as public comments, comments 
must be submitted through one of the two methods specified above. 
Again, all submissions must refer to the docket number and title of 
the rule.

    No Facsimile Comments. Facsimile (FAX) comments are not acceptable.
    Public Inspection of Public Comments. All properly submitted 
comments and communications submitted to HUD will be available for 
public inspection and copying between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays at the 
above address. Due to security measures at the HUD Headquarters 
building, an advance appointment to review the public comments must be 
scheduled by calling 202-402-5538 (this is not a toll-free number). 
Individuals with speech or hearing impairments may access this number 
via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339. 
Copies of all comments submitted are available for inspection and 
downloading at www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shawn Bucholtz, Director, Housing and 
Demographic Analysis Division, Office of Policy, Development and 
Research, 451 7th Street SW., Room 8222, Washington, DC 20410-0500, 
telephone number 202-402-5538 (this is not a toll-free number). Hearing 
or speech-impaired individuals may access this number via TTY by 
calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at telephone number 1-800-
877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 7444]]

A. Background

    The American Housing Survey provides a periodic measure of the size 
and composition of the country's housing inventory. HUD provides all 
funding and oversight for the AHS. Through an interagency agreement, 
the Census Bureau provides operational management and field data 
collection.
    The current sample was drawn in 1985, with additions and 
subtractions to account for new construction, demolitions and 
conversions. The 2013 AHS will be the final survey administered to the 
current sample. HUD will draw a new sample for 2015, presenting HUD 
with an opportunity to redesign the survey to better meet current and 
future needs.
    The current AHS biennially collects data on subjects such as the 
amount and types of changes in the housing stock, the physical 
condition of the housing stock, the characteristics of the occupants, 
housing costs, the persons eligible for and beneficiaries of assisted 
housing, and the number and characteristics of vacant units. Starting 
in 2009, the AHS questions were classified into ``core'' modules and 
``rotating topical'' modules in order to minimize respondent burden and 
satisfy widening needs for data content. Questions in the core modules 
are asked in each survey and typically undergo only minor revisions 
between surveys. Questions in the rotating topical modules are asked on 
a rotating basis. For instance, questions about potential health and 
safety hazards and home modifications made to assist occupants living 
with disabilities that were added to the 2011 AHS will not be included 
in the 2013 AHS. The 2013 AHS may include questions about neighborhood 
characteristics, people who had to temporarily move in with other 
households, ability to travel via public transportation, bicycling, or 
walking, energy efficiency, and emergency preparedness that were not in 
the 2011 AHS.
    The current AHS sample includes approximately 60,000 housing units 
that are visited every two years for the purposes of generating 
national estimates and additional housing units in metropolitan areas 
that are visited periodically for the purposes of generating 
metropolitan area estimates. These are referred to as metropolitan area 
oversamples. In 2011, 29 metropolitan area oversamples were conducted.
    HUD uses the AHS data to 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. The AHS data allow HUD to 
evaluate, monitor, and design HUD programs to improve efficiency and 
effectiveness. 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 use AHS 
data in efforts of specific interest and concern to their respective 
communities.

B. AHS Sample Redesign Issues

    The current AHS sample design includes a single longitudinal panel. 
As previously mentioned, some housing units in this single panel are 
surveyed every two years (for national estimates) and some are surveyed 
less frequently (for metropolitan area estimates). In 2011, the Census 
Bureau and HUD published a whitepaper on sample redesign options. This 
whitepaper evaluated the performance of the current sample design, 
identified potential problems with the current sample design, and 
presented options for alternative sample designs. After evaluating the 
whitepaper, HUD determined that the current single panel sample design 
was the best option.
    Through formal discussions with the Census Bureau and through 
informal discussions with AHS data users, HUD has identified other 
sample redesign issues that it has explored or will explore as part of 
the redesign process. The following is a list of questions already 
raised concerning the AHS sample redesign:
    1. What is the appropriate sample size for generating national 
estimates, taking into consideration the necessary level of precision 
required by AHS users?
    2. Should the AHS continue to oversample metropolitan areas? If so, 
how many metropolitan areas should be oversampled, which metropolitan 
areas should be oversampled, and how large should the sample size be 
for metropolitan oversamples?
    3. What housing unit subgroups should HUD consider oversampling? 
For instance, in prior years, HUD has oversampled HUD-assisted housing, 
assisted housing for the elderly, and manufactured housing.

C. AHS Content and Question Redesign Issues

    While a good sample design is necessary for a useful survey, the 
survey's content and questions are the most important features. 
Relevant content gathered through poorly-designed questions impacts the 
accuracy of survey results. Irrelevant content gathered though well-
designed questions may not be useful. For a survey to maximize its 
usefulness the content must be relevant and it must be gathered through 
properly designed questions that yield accurate answers from 
respondents.
    The AHS is a housing survey and housing is a multi-dimensional 
good. An individual household's choice of a particular housing unit is 
a complex decision and may rely on many factors. As such, housing 
surveys should include content about the structure of the housing unit, 
the characteristics of the location of the housing unit, and the 
occupants of the housing unit. To accomplish this goal, the current AHS 
includes core modules that are used in each survey and rotating topical 
modules that are used as deemed necessary by HUD.
    Through formal discussions with the Census Bureau and through 
informal discussions with AHS data users, HUD has identified content 
and question issues that it will explore as part of the redesign 
process. The following is a list of issues raised concerning the AHS 
content and questions:
    1. Should HUD continue the strategy of core and rotating topical 
modules?
    2. What content should be included in the core modules, considering 
that housing characteristics change slowly?
    3. What topics should HUD consider for rotating topical modules 
from 2015-2019?
    4. What questions should HUD consider reformatting to elicit more 
accurate responses? For instance, are the questions on utility usage 
providing accurate information?
    5. What questions in the AHS are duplicative with other surveys and 
should be under consideration for removal from the survey?
    6. What data collection modes (web, telephone, face-to-face 
interviews, administrative data matching) should be used, given the 
secular decrease in response rates in both face-to-face and telephone 
surveys? How should questions be formulated differently if we 
anticipate multimode data collection?

D. AHS Data Dissemination Redesign Issues

    AHS data is disseminated in three ways. First, summary statistics 
tables are created by the Census Bureau and are made available on the 
web in tabular format. Second, AHS microdata is made available through 
a public use file

[[Page 7445]]

(PUF), which is available on the web. Due to the complexity of the PUF, 
several other PUF resources are made available to assist AHS users. 
Third, researchers wishing to use aspects of the AHS microdata that 
cannot be released publicly without risking the privacy of AHS 
respondents can gain access at one of the Census Research Data Centers 
with HUD and Census Bureau approval. HUD is interested in knowing how 
the AHS data might be disseminated differently to add value for the AHS 
user community and the general public.
    1. What geographic identifiers should be disclosed on the PUF, 
taking into consideration that disclosure policies require that 
geographic identifiers do not reveal geographic entities with less than 
100,000 persons? Prior geographic identifiers include specific 
metropolitan area name, metropolitan area status, Census Urban Area 
classifier, State name, County name, and HUD-created sub-metropolitan 
area zones.
    2. Are the national and metropolitan area summary tables useful to 
AHS data users?
    3. In what ways can HUD improve the organization and dissemination 
of the PUF?

E. Request for Comments

    HUD is seeking additional information from the public regarding AHS 
redesign issues. Governmental policy makers, academic researchers, and 
other interested parties are encouraged to participate by submitting 
comments. Official address, contact, and due date for submitting 
comments are stated above.

    Dated: January 23, 2013.
Jean Lin Pao,
General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research.
[FR Doc. E3-2013-2261 Filed 1-31-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-62-P