“The Survey of Market Absorption (SOMA), sponsored by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), uses the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC) as its sampling base. Each month, a sample of residential buildings containing five or more units is selected for SOMA. The initial 3-month interview collects information on amenities, rent or sales price levels, number of units, type of building, and the number of units taken off the market (absorbed). Field representatives conduct subsequent interviews, if necessary, at 6, 9, and 12 months after completion. Beginning in 2002, the survey started collecting information on “Senior Housing”.”
This dataset is a look into the specifics of the apartment market, which is great for further urban area analysis and affordable housing
Brief Overall Description of the Dataset:
*Can copy from the websites, but put in quotes.
Link: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/soma/overview.html
Date Inventory Completed: 06/19/2015
Screening
- Is the data collected opinion-based?
- Is the data collection recurring (must be collected at least annually)?
- Is there data available for 2013?
- Is the data collected at the property or housing unit level?
- Can we access the data by August 15th?
Purpose
What is the purpose of the organization collecting the data?
“The U.S. Census Bureau designed the survey to provide data concerning the rate at which privately financed, non subsidized, unfurnished units in buildings with five or more units are rented or sold (absorbed). In addition, the survey collects data on characteristics such as number of bedrooms, asking rent, and asking price. “
Why is it collected and how does the organization use it?
This dataset is used to supplement the HUD data, specifically for apartment and affordable housing data
Who else uses the data?
Businesses, researchers, policy makers
Who do they sell the data to?
Anyone
Method
What is the data collection method?
Survey
What is the type of data collected?
Designed collection
If designed, who created the questions?
US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
What is the raw source of the collected data (prior to any aggregation)?
Self-report by building managers, owners, builders, and or rental/sales agent
Description
What is the general topic of the data (1-2 words)?
Characteristics and tenure of apartments in the US
What are the earliest and latest dates for which data is available?
4th Quarter 1995-2013
Is data collected and available periodically?
“Quarterly reports, including basic tabulations, are published and released on the Internet. These quarterly reports are generally available the first week of March, June, September, and December.”
How soon after a reference period ends can a data source be prepared and provided?
About a month later ( the websites available data appears to not be completely updated and only goes to to 2012.)
Selectivity
What is the universe (e.g., population) that the data represents?
“Apartments in newly constructed buildings with five units or more”
Accessibility
- How is the data accessed?
Download
- Is it open data?
Yes
Any legal, regulatory, or administrative restrictions on accessing the data source?
None
Cost? - One time or annual or project based payment?
None
Does this dataset appear to meet our needs for the Census study? YES
Full Inventory
Description
- Features
- What is the temporal nature of the data: longitudinal, time-series, or one time point?
Time Series
- Geospatial? If Yes, at what level?
Census Tracts
Metadata
- Is there information available to assess the transparency and soundness of the methods to gather the data for our purposes?
None
- Is there a description of each variable in the source along with their valid values?
None
- Are there unique IDs for unique elements that can be used for linking data?
None
- Is there a data dictionary or codebook?
None
Selectivity
What unit is represented at the record level of the data source?
Household
Does this universe match the stated intentions for the data collection? If not, what has been included or excluded and why?
Survey respondents only across the United States
What is the sampling technique used (if applicable)?
Random -buildings for survey come from Census Bureau's Survey of Construction (SOC).
What was the coverage?
Unknown
Stability/Coherence
- Were there any changes to the universe of data being captured (including geographical areas covered) and if so what were they?
In 2002 they began to collect “senior housing”.
- Were there any changes in the data capture method and if so what were they?
“The SOMA adopted new ratio estimation procedures in 1990 to derive more accurate estimates of completions”
- Were there any changes in the sources of data and if so what were they?
No
Accuracy
- Any known sources of error?
Potential incorrect recording or wrong answers selected
- Describe any quality control checks performed by the data’s owner.
90% confidence intervals are used
Accessibility
- Any records or fields collected, but not included in data source, such as for confidentiality reasons)?
Unknown
- Is there a subset of variables and/or data that is must be obtained through a separate process? If yes, is there a separate legal, regulatory, or administrative restrictions on accessing the data source? Cost? - One time or annual or project based payment?
No
Privacy and security
- Was consent given by participant? If so, how was consent given?
Given when turning in form
- Are there legal limitations or restrictions on the use of the data?
No
- What confidentiality policies does the source have?
Does not include PII
Research
- What research has been done with this dataset? (e.g., impact of policies, predictors of student success)
Unknown
- Include any links to research if provided:
- List any other data use notes provided by the supplier.
Gaps/Concerns
- Feasibility - can all jurisdiction levels provide the data (if applicable)?
- Data ownership - a lack of clarity in legal guidance stemming from a lack of clarity with who owns digital data?
- Data collection authority - what data is reasonably private and what constitutes unwarranted intrusion?
- Describe any other notes you have or any gaps/concerns you see with this dataset: