[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 160 (Thursday, August 18, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51347-51348]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-21138]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Survey of Housing Starts, Sales, and Completions.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0110.
    Form Number(s): SOC-QI/SF.1, SOC-QI/MF.1.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Burden Hours: 14,630.
    Number of Respondents: 22,200.
    Average Hours per Response: 5 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: The U. S. Census Bureau is requesting an extension 
of the currently approved collection for the Survey of Housing Starts, 
Sales, and Completions, otherwise known as the Survey of Construction 
(SOC). Government agencies and private companies use statistics from 
SOC to monitor and evaluate the large and dynamic housing construction 
industry. Data for two principal economic indicators are produced from 
the SOC: New Residential Construction (housing starts and housing 
completions) and New Residential Sales. In addition, a number of other 
statistical series are produced, including extensive information on the 
physical characteristics of new residential buildings, and indexes 
measuring rates of inflation in the price of new buildings. These 
statistics are based on a sample of residential buildings in permit-
issuing places and a road canvass in a sample of land areas not covered 
by building permit systems.
    Census Bureau field representatives (FRs) mail forms SOC-QI/SF.1 
and SOC-QI/MF.1 to new respondents to complete. A few days later, the 
FRs either call or visit the respondents to enter their survey 
responses into a laptop computer using the Computer Assisted Personal 
Interviewing (CAPI) software. The respondents are home builders, real 
estate agents, rental agents, or new homeowners of sampled residential 
buildings. FRs contact respondents multiple times based on the number 
of projects in the sample and the number of months required to complete 
the project.
    The Census Bureau uses the information collected in the SOC to 
publish estimates of the number of new residential housing units 
started, under construction, completed, and the number of new houses 
sold and for sale. The Census Bureau also publishes many financial and 
physical characteristics of new housing units. Government agencies use 
these statistics to evaluate economic policy, measure progress towards 
the national housing goal, make policy decisions, and formulate

[[Page 51348]]

legislation. For example, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System uses data from this survey to evaluate the effect of interest 
rates in this interest-rate sensitive area of the economy. The Bureau 
of Economic Analysis uses the data in developing the Gross Domestic 
Product (GDP). The private sector uses the information for estimating 
the demand for building materials and the many products used in new 
housing and to schedule production, distribution, and sales efforts. 
The financial community uses the data to estimate the demand for short-
term (construction loans) and long-term (mortgages) borrowing.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other for-
profit.
    Frequency: Monthly.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Sections 131 and 182.
    OMB Desk Officer: Brian Harris-Kojetin, (202) 395-7314.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0266, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f19599889f949ab1959e92df969e87"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1b7f7362757e705b7f7478357c746d">[email protected]</span></a>).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245) 
or e-mail (<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cdafa5acbfbfa4bea68da2a0afe3a8a2bde3aaa2bb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="57353f3625253e243c17383a357932382779303821">[email protected]</span></a>).

    Dated: August 15, 2011.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011-21138 Filed 8-17-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P


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