Changes to the Housing Stock: Loss of Housing Units

Warren A. Brown, Cornell University
Jan Vink, Cornell University
Joseph Salvo, New York City Department of City Planning
Peter Lobo, New York City Department of City Planning

We present a procedure to estimate loss of housing units using a model developed with data from the American Housing Survey in combination with annual estimates from the American Community Survey. The Census Bureau estimates the number of housing units for local governments based on three components: new housing units that are not mobile homes; new mobile homes; and loss of housing units. Estimating housing loss has been a serious stumbling block for years, since the Bureau does not collect data on permits for demolition of existing buildings. In order to estimate the loss of housing units the Census Bureau uses data from the American Housing Survey’s national sample to create rates based on age and type of housing unit. We develop a more complete model of housing unit loss that takes into account not only age of housing unit but also tenure, type of unit, and regional market conditions.