[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 100 (Friday, May 23, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29739-29740]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-12001]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of 
Housing Starts, Sales, and Completions

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on 
or before July 22, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet 
at [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions 
should be directed to Erica Filipek, U.S. Census Bureau, MCD, CENHQ 
Room 7K057, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Washington, DC 20233, telephone 
(301)763-5161 (or via the Internet at [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The U.S. Census Bureau plans to request a three-year extension of 
the current Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance of the 
Survey of Housing Starts, Sales and Completions, also known as the 
Survey of Construction (SOC). The SOC collects monthly data on new 
residential construction from a sample of owners or builders. The 
Census Bureau uses the Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) 
electronic questionnaires SOC-QI/SF.1 and SOC-QI/MF.1 to collect data 
on start and completion dates of construction, physical characteristics 
of the structure (floor area, number of bathrooms, type of heating 
system, etc), and if applicable, date of sale, sales price, and type of 
financing. The SOC provides widely used measures of construction 
activity, including the economic indicators Housing Starts and Housing 
Completions, which are from the New Residential Construction series, 
and New Residential Sales.
    The current clearance for this survey is scheduled to expire on 
October 31, 2014. No changes are planned to the questionnaire.
    We sample about 1,700 new buildings each month (20,400 per year). 
We inquire about the progress of each building multiple times until it 
is completed (and a sales contract is signed, if it is a single-family 
house that is built for sale). For single-family buildings, we conduct 
an average of 8.17 interviews and for multifamily buildings, we conduct 
an average of 7.0 interviews. The total number of interviews conducted 
each year for single-family buildings is about 107,844 and for 
multifamily buildings is about 50,400. Each interview takes 5 minutes 
on average. Therefore, the total annual burden is 13,187 hours.

II. Method of Collection

    The Census Bureau uses its field representatives to collect the 
data. The field representatives conduct interviews to obtain data.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0110.
    Form Number(s): SOC-QI/SF.1 and SOC-QI/MF.1.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households, business or other for-
profit organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 20,400.
    Estimated Time per Response: 5 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 13,187.

[[Page 29740]]

    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Section 182.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: May 20, 2014.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-12001 Filed 5-22-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P