DOI: 10.6077/nbxk-4f25
title: American Housing Survey, 1997: National Microdata

description: &lt;p&gt;This data collection provides information on the characteristics of a national sample of housing units, including apartments, single-family homes, mobile homes, and vacant housing units. Unlike previous years, the data are presented in nine separate parts: Part 1, Work Done Record (Replacement or Additions to the House), Part 2, Housing Unit Record (Main Record), Part 3, Worker Record, Part 4, Mortgages (Owners Only), Part 5, Manager and Owner Record (Renters Only), Part 6, Person Record, Part 7, Mover Group Record, Part 8, Recodes (One Record per Housing Unit), and Part 9, Weights. Data include year the structure was built, type and number of living quarters, occupancy status, access, number of rooms, presence of commercial establishments on the property, and property value. Additional data focus on kitchen and plumbing facilities, types of heating fuel used, source of water, sewage disposal, heating and air-conditioning equipment, and major additions, alterations, or repairs to the property. Information provided on housing expenses includes monthly mortgage or rent payments, cost of services such as utilities, garbage collection, and property insurance, and amount of real estate taxes paid in the previous year. Also included is information on whether the household received government assistance to help pay heating or cooling costs or for other energy-related services. Similar data are provided for housing units previously occupied by respondents who had recently moved. Additionally, indicators of housing and neighborhood quality are supplied. Housing quality variables include privacy of bedrooms, condition of kitchen facilities, basement or roof leakage, breakdowns of plumbing facilities and equipment, and overall opinion of the structure. For quality of neighborhood, variables include use of exterminator services, existence of boarded-up buildings, and overall quality of the neighborhood. In addition to housing characteristics, some demographic data are provided on household members, such as age, sex, race, marital status, income, and relationship to householder. Additional data provided on the householder include years of school completed, Spanish origin, length of residence, and length of occupancy. (Source: downloaded from ICPSR 7/13/10)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Please Note:&lt;/strong&gt; This dataset is part of the historical CISER Data Archive Collection and is also available at ICPSR -- &lt;a href="https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR02912.v2"&gt;https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR02912.v2&lt;/a&gt;. We highly recommend using the ICPSR version as they made this dataset available in multiple data formats.&lt;/p&gt;
description: American Housing Survey National Files
description: collection_notes: Beginning in 1997, the methods of collecting and processing American Housing Survey (AHS) data were redesigned. All interviews are conducted using computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) software, allowing new responses to some questions. Due to these changes, users are asked to use caution when comparing data prior to 1997 with data from 1997 forward.