Basic Monthly Survey Methodology and Documentation Page
The Housing Vacancy Survey (HVS) is a regular part of the CPS. Each month, the Bureau of the Census collects additional information on certain sample units identified as vacant housing units in the CPS. The results are used to estimate the trend in housing vacancies, provide information on the characteristics of vacant units currently on the market, and to determine the relationship between the supply and demand for housing. Data for the HVS are obtained from some CPS questions and special HVS items. The CPS contains the information needed for all vacant, seasonal and nonseasonal housing units. The HVS items ask specific questions about the housing unit in sample.
HVS questions come up for cases that have a Type B outcome code:
If the unit is available for year-round use AND the type of living quarters is housing unit.
You may complete the HVS case by telephone without making a personal visit to the sample unit only if all the conditions listed below exist. Otherwise, you must make a personal visit to the sample unit. Interview the landlord, owner, agent or, if none of these are available, a knowledgeable neighbor. If you can not find any of these, you may complete the HVS by observation as a last resort.
Conditions Necessary for Completing an HVS Case by Telephone:
1. The unit was determined to be a Type B noninterview in the preceding month.
2. The unit is a substantial distance from your home, and you are not planning to return to the area for other interviews.
3. You have the name and telephone number of a reliable respondent (owner, rental agent, knowledgeable neighbor, or local merchant) and a telephone interview is acceptable with that person. (Which you collected at the BCINFO screen the previous month.)
If one or more of the above conditions is not met, you must make a personal visit to the sample unit.
>BCINFO< ENTER <N> FOR NONE/DON'T KNOW
ENTER <S> FOR SAME
Name of contact person: ===>__________________________________________
Contact Person's title: ===>___________________________________________
Phone Number to contact: Area Code ===>___ Phone number ===>_______
Extension ===>____
Observation Only?
<1> Yes
<2> No
===>_
Use the same care in completing the HVS items (questions) that you do for the regular CPS questions. They are as important to CPS as the questions for occupied units.
Basic Monthly Survey Methodology and Documentation Page
CPS Main Page