Each month, a sample of residential building permits is selected from each of the permit offices. The probability of selecting a permit is proportional to the number of units authorized by the permit. All permits authorizing buildings with 5 or more housing units are selected. Each month, field representatives road canvass each of the non-permit land areas to identify new buildings, and all new buildings found are selected for the survey. Once a permit or building is selected, its owner or builder is contacted by telephone or personal interview each month.
Contact continues until the project is completed, abandoned, or sold.
Estimates are adjusted to reflect variations by region and type of construction, and account for houses started without or in advance of a permit. Reported data are seasonally adjusted. The reports contain the first available preliminary monthly estimates of the number of housing units started and revised figures for previous months. Housing Starts reports are available 4 weeks after the reference period. It includes preliminary monthly estimates and revised and more detailed figures for the previous month, tabulated by type of structure, census region, and purpose of construction.