VT Census Case Studies : Rental Housing Finance Survey (RHFS)

Created by molfe on 10 Aug 2015

Brief Overall Description of the Dataset:

The survey provides information on the financing of multifamily rental housing properties with emphasis on new originations for purchase, refinancing, and loan terms associated with these originations. In addition, the survey includes information on property characteristics, such as number of units, amenities available, rental income and expenditure information.

The RHFS PUF microdata is provided in five files: -Interviewprops – records with ‘complete interviews’ (2260 cases) -Nonintprops – records that are ‘non-interview’ (i.e., refusals, out of scope, etc. (1770 cases) -CatVar -- contains values for the categorical variables. -Sample Design - contains sample design information for each record (4030 cases). -Repwgt - Contains the replicate weights (4030 cases, zero for non-interviews). The RHFS IUF microdata contains each of the five above tables, plus a sixth table "IUFMaster" that contains administrative and geographic data.

Link: http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/rhfs/home.html

Date Inventory Completed: 7/10/2015

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?

HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes; utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination, and transform the way HUD does business.

  • Why is it collected and how does the organization use it?

The purpose of the RHFS is to provide current and continuous measure of financial, mortgage and property characteristics of multifamily rental housing properties in the United States.

  • Who else uses the data?

Researcher, policy makers, and  “businesses and other private entities involved in multifamily development, ownership and management”

  • Who do they sell the data to?

Free


Method

  • What is the data collection method? 

Survey

  • What is the type of data collected? 

Designed Collected (For survey, see: http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/rhfs/RHFS_Annotated_Questionnaire.pdf)

  • If designed, who created the questions?

HUD researchers

  • What is the raw source of the collected data (prior to any aggregation)? 

Survey responses


Description

  • What is the general topic of the data (1-2 words)?

Multifamily financing, ownership patterns, origination, mortgages on properties, units and buildings on properties, units on property by bedroom count and housing for low-income families and individuals.

  • What are the earliest and latest dates for which data is available?

2012 (planning a repeat in 2015)

  • Is data collected and available periodically?

No

  • How soon after a reference period ends can a data source be prepared and provided? 

N/A


Selectivity

  • What is the universe (e.g., population) that the data represents?

Multifamily rental properties

Accessibility

  • How is the data accessed? 

Direct download from website

  • Is it open data?

Yes

  • Any legal, regulatory, or administrative restrictions on accessing the data source?

None Stated

  • Cost? - One time or annual or project based payment?

Free

Does this dataset appear to meet our needs for the Census study? Maybe

Full Inventory

Description

  • Features
    • What is the temporal nature of the data: longitudinal, time-series, or one time point?

One time

    • Geospatial? If Yes, at what level?

County (FIPS)

 

Metadata

  • Is there information available to assess the transparency and soundness of the methods to gather the data for our purposes?

Yes

  • Is there a description of each variable in the source along with their valid values?

Yes

  • Are there unique IDs for unique elements that can be used for linking data?

No

  • Is there a data dictionary or codebook?

http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/rhfs/RHFS_Codebook_V2.1.pdf


Selectivity

  • What unit is represented at the record level of the data source?

Owners or property managers

  • Does this universe match the stated intentions for the data collection? If not, what has been included or excluded and why?

Owners or property managers of multifamily rental properties provide responses to the survey questions.

  • What is the sampling technique used (if applicable)? 

Stratified sample by PSU from CMA file (see: http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/rhfs/2012_Methodology_Weighting_and_Error_Estimation_053014.pdf)

  • What was the coverage?

There was an unweighted overall response rate of 65 percent. The weighted overall response rate was 67 percent.


Stability/Coherence

  • Were there any changes to the universe of data being captured (including geographical areas covered) and if so what were they?

N/A

  • Were there any changes in the data capture method and if so what were they? 

N/A

  • Were there any changes in the sources of data and if so what were they? 

N/A


Accuracy

  • Any known sources of error?

For discussion on methodology and error, see: http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/rhfs/2012_Methodology_Weighting_and_Error_Estimation_053014.pdf 

  • Describe any quality control checks performed by the data’s owner.

For each release, errors are fixed and a description provided: http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/rhfs/2012_RHFS_National_PUF_version_control.pdf\

Accessibility

  • Any records or fields collected, but not included in data source, such as for confidentiality reasons)? 

None stated

  • 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?

By turning in the survey, consent was given

  • Are there legal limitations or restrictions on the use of the data? 

None stated

  • What confidentiality policies does the source have? 

None stated

 

Research

  • What research has been done with this dataset? (e.g., impact of policies, predictors of student success)

No research listed

  • Include any links to research if provided:

http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/rhfs/home.html#research

  • 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: