AHS Research Reports on Housing Quality

HUD USER has posted two new reports based on American Housing Survey data. Both reports concern measuring the concept of "housing quality." They were written by Frederick J. Eggers and Fouad Moumen of Econometrica Inc., under contract with HUD.

The first, "American Housing Survey: Housing Adequacy and Quality As Measured by the AHS" (https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/ahsrep/AHS_hsg_adequacy.html), examines the adequacy measure embodied in the AHS ZADEQ variable. The report describes the criteria used to classify units as severely, moderately, or not inadequate. It shows which deficiencies contribute the most to inadequacy. It also examines the distribution of inadequacy, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally.

The second report is "American Housing Survey: A Measure of (Poor) Housing Quality" (https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/ahsrep/AHS_hsg_quality.html). This report develops a Poor Quality Index (PQI) that measures the level of physical deficiencies in American Housing Survey (AHS) sample housing units. Compared with the AHS measure, the PQI recognizes a broader range of deficiencies and has greater stability on the problem side between surveys. The goal is not to replace the AHS measure but to give researchers an alternative.

Dav Vandenbroucke
Senior Economist
U.S. Dept. HUD
david.a.vandenbroucke@hud.gov
202-402-5890