Survey of Construction
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; United States Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census
Version: View help for Version V1
Project Citation:
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and United States Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. Survey of Construction. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2025-05-06. https://doi.org/10.3886/E228781V1
Project Description
Project Title:
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Survey of Construction
Summary:
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The purpose of the Survey of Construction (SOC) is to provide national and regional statistics on starts and completions of new single-family and multifamily housing units and statistics on sales of new single-family houses in the United States. The United States Code, Title 13, authorizes this survey and provides for voluntary responses. The Department of Housing and Urban Development partially funds this survey. The SOC also provides statistics on characteristics of new privately-owned residential structures in the United States. Data included are various characteristics of new single-family houses completed, new multifamily housing completed, new single-family houses sold, and new contractor-built houses started.
Original Distribution URL:
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https://www.census.gov/construction/soc/index.html
Scope of Project
Subject Terms:
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housing units;
home ownership
Geographic Coverage:
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United States of America
Data Type(s):
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survey data;
text
Methodology
Sampling:
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The design of the monthly sample that has been used since January 2005 is as follows:
The Survey of Construction sample design consists of three stages: (1) a subsample of the 2004 Current Population Survey (CPS) primary sampling units (PSUs), which are are land areas (groups of counties, towns or townships within a state) that represent the entire United States; (2) selection of permit/non-permit areas; and (3) selection of permits.
In the first stage, the 820 CPS primary sampling units were classified as self-representing or non-self-representing. If a PSU had a large population age 16 and over or high permit activity, it was classified as self-representing; otherwise it was classified as non-self-representing. There were 48 self-representing PSUs. The 772 non-self-representing PSUs were grouped into 121 strata by Census Division, permit activity, metropolitan status, and population (non-institutional population age 16 and over based on the 2000 Census). One non-self-representing PSU was selected per stratum using a procedure that maximized the overlap between the old and new sample of PSUs.
Within the 169 selected PSUs, the second stage of sampling was performed separately for permit-issuing places and areas that do not require permits for new residential construction, referred to as non-permit. The permit-issuing places were stratified by permit activity. Approximately 900 permit-issuing places were selected. The selection of the non-permit areas was based on the 2000 Census geography tract and block definitions. Within each state, the land area was divided into blocks, which are components of tracts. Blocks were classified as permit and non-permit. The non-permit blocks were combined at the tract level, and these areas were stratified by Census 2000 housing unit population. Higher population areas had greater probabilities of selection. Approximately 80 land areas (groups of blocks) within the selected PSUs were selected.
The third stage of selection is performed monthly in the approximately 900 permit-issuing places and 80 non-permit areas. In permit-issuing places, field representatives list all permits for new residential construction and select a sample of those permits. Permits for buildings with 1 to 4 units are sampled at an overall rate of 1 in 50 units. All permits for buildings with five units or more are included in the sample. In non-permit areas, field representatives canvass the areas looking for housing units started, all of which are included in the sample.
The Survey of Construction sample design consists of three stages: (1) a subsample of the 2004 Current Population Survey (CPS) primary sampling units (PSUs), which are are land areas (groups of counties, towns or townships within a state) that represent the entire United States; (2) selection of permit/non-permit areas; and (3) selection of permits.
In the first stage, the 820 CPS primary sampling units were classified as self-representing or non-self-representing. If a PSU had a large population age 16 and over or high permit activity, it was classified as self-representing; otherwise it was classified as non-self-representing. There were 48 self-representing PSUs. The 772 non-self-representing PSUs were grouped into 121 strata by Census Division, permit activity, metropolitan status, and population (non-institutional population age 16 and over based on the 2000 Census). One non-self-representing PSU was selected per stratum using a procedure that maximized the overlap between the old and new sample of PSUs.
Within the 169 selected PSUs, the second stage of sampling was performed separately for permit-issuing places and areas that do not require permits for new residential construction, referred to as non-permit. The permit-issuing places were stratified by permit activity. Approximately 900 permit-issuing places were selected. The selection of the non-permit areas was based on the 2000 Census geography tract and block definitions. Within each state, the land area was divided into blocks, which are components of tracts. Blocks were classified as permit and non-permit. The non-permit blocks were combined at the tract level, and these areas were stratified by Census 2000 housing unit population. Higher population areas had greater probabilities of selection. Approximately 80 land areas (groups of blocks) within the selected PSUs were selected.
The third stage of selection is performed monthly in the approximately 900 permit-issuing places and 80 non-permit areas. In permit-issuing places, field representatives list all permits for new residential construction and select a sample of those permits. Permits for buildings with 1 to 4 units are sampled at an overall rate of 1 in 50 units. All permits for buildings with five units or more are included in the sample. In non-permit areas, field representatives canvass the areas looking for housing units started, all of which are included in the sample.
Data Source:
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The Census field representatives use interviewing software on laptop computers to collect the data. Facsimiles of the computer-based questionnaires are provided to respondents to familiarize them with the survey. These facsimiles show the questions that are asked for housing units in single-family buildings on Form SOC-QI/SF.1 and in multifamily buildings on Form SOC-QI/MF.1. In addition the Census field representatives provide an introductory letter explaining the survey. Field representatives also use Form SOC-QBPO.1 to collect information regarding procedures for handling building permits in building permit offices (BPOs) sampled for the SUP.
The Survey of Construction includes two parts: the Survey of Use of Permits (SUP), which estimates the amount of new construction in areas that require a building permit, and the Non-Permit Survey (NP), which estimates the amount of new construction in areas that do not require a building permit. Less than 2 percent of all new construction takes place in non-permit areas. Data from both parts of SOC are collected by Census field representatives. For SUP, they visit a sample of permit offices and select a sample of permits issued for new housing. These permits are then followed through to see when they are started and completed, and when they are sold for single-family units that are built to be sold. Each project is also surveyed to collect information on characteristics of the structure. For NP, roads in sampled non-permit land areas are driven at least once every 3 months to see if there is any new construction. Once new residential construction is found, it is followed up the same as in SUP.
The Census field representatives use interviewing software on laptop computers to collect the data. Facsimiles of the computer-based questionnaires are provided to respondents to familiarize them with the survey. These facsimiles show the questions that are asked for housing units in single-family buildings on Form SOC-QI/SF.1 and in multifamily buildings on Form SOC-QI/MF.1. In addition the Census field representatives provide an introductory letter explaining the survey. Field representatives also use Form SOC-QBPO.1 to collect information regarding procedures for handling building permits in building permit offices (BPOs) sampled for the SUP.
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