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Data Dictionary: Census 1980
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Survey: Census 1980
Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Universe: Specified Owner-Occupied Noncondominium Housing Units
Variable Details
T47. Median Housing Unit Value (In 1979 Dollars)
Universe: Specified Owner-Occupied Noncondominium Housing Units
T047_001Median Housing Unit Value (In 1979 Dollars)
Percent base:
None - percentages not computed
Aggregation method:
Median, using bracket table: T046, interpolation method: Pareto
Formula used to compute this variable:
#ReturnType oretval = new #ReturnType(); oretval = ORG_STF1:T039001; return oretval;
Variables used in the formula:
ORG_STF1:T039001
Specified Owner-Occupied Noncondominium Housing Units: Median Value
Relevant Documentation:
Excerpt from: Social Explorer, U.S. Census Bureau; Census of Population and Housing, 1980 [United States]: Summary Tape File 1a [Computer file]. ICPSR version. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census [producer], 1982. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2002.
  Summary Tape File 1 -> Summary Tape File 1 -- Part II -> Glossary -> Value
Value
For owner-occupied housing units, the respondent's estimate of the current dollar worth of the property. For vacant units, value is the price asked for the property. Statistics on value are shown only for owner-occupied condominium units and for "specified owner-occupied" units, i.e., one-family houses on less than 10 acres and with no business on the property. Value tabulations exclude renter-occupied units, mobile homes or trailers, houses on 10 or more acres, houses with a commercial establishment or medical office on the property, and noncondominium units in multi-family buildings (e.g., cooperatives).

A property is defined as the house and land on which it stands. Respondents estimated the value of house and land even if they only owned the house or owned the property jointly.

When value data are presented solely for vacant units for sale only, the term "sale price asked" is substituted. In the computation of aggregate and mean value, $7,500 is taken as the average of the interval "less than $10,000." and $250,000 is taken as the average of the interval "$200,000 or more."

Limitations
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A 1970 census evaluation study found that respondents tended to report a higher value of home in a reinterview survey, with more detailed questions, than in the census. On the other hand, a comparison of 1970 census reports of value with subsequent actual sale prices of a sample of homes sold one to two years later found that the census understated the median market value of those homes by only three percent (compared to the sale prices adjusted for inflation between the census and sale date). This result cannot be generalized to all census value data, however, since the sample was restricted to metropolitan areas, and since census respondents who were about to sell their homes may have been more aware of market values.

Historical comparability
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Similar data have been collected since 1930 (and in 1920 for mortgaged nonfarms only), but value for condominiums is new for 1980. For historical comparability, tables will show condominiums and noncondominiums separately. Values for 1980 reflect increased housing prices: the highest category in 1970 was "$50,000 or more," for 1980, $200,000 or more. Also, the number of categories increased from 11 in 1970 to 24 in 1980.