Housing Affordability Data System (HADS), 2004

The Housing Affordability Data System (HADS) is a set of housing unit level datasets that measures the affordability of housing units and the housing cost burdens of households, relative to area median incomes, poverty level incomes, and Fair Market Rents. The purpose of these datasets is to provide housing analysts with consistent measures of affordability and burdens over a long period. The datasets are based on the American Housing Survey (AHS) national files from 1985 through 2005 and the metropolitan files for 2002 and 2004. Users can link records in HADS files to AHS records, allowing access to all of the AHS variables. Housing-level variables include information on the number of rooms in the housing unit, the year the unit was built, whether it was occupied or vacant, whether the unit was rented or owned, whether it was a single family or multiunit structure, the number of units in the building, the current market value of the unit, and measures of relative housing costs. The dataset also includes variables describing the number of people living in the household, household income, and the type of residential area (e.g., urban or suburban).