The Census Bureau is planning on conducting its largest review of housing trends in the country’s history with its American Housing Survey. There will be 76,000 homes surveyed by questionaires and personal visits to ascertain the status of the United States housing market.

Those chosen to be interviewed are expected to answer all the questions in the American Housing Survey and the promise that any data collected will be kept confidential.

The bureau plans to mail an informational letter to local households in the nationwide sample before the survey starts. The letter from Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon explains that individuals will be interviewed by field representatives who carry official identification. Besides visiting occupied housing units, the field representatives will be looking for data from landlords, rental agents or neighbors about unoccupied units. By law, the Census Bureau is required to protect the confidentiality of all identifying information about survey respondents and their housing units.

Field representatives will ask residents questions about the size, composition and condition of the house, and the financial and demographic characteristics of the people who live there. Other questions request information about the lot size, the year the structure was built, plumbing facilities, type of mortgage, source of water, frequency of equipment failures, condition of the neighborhood, and the residents’ opinions of their neighborhoods. via New Mexico Business Weekly

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