EMBARGOED UNTIL: 10 A.M. EDT, JUNE 23, 1997 (MONDAY) Public Information Office CB97-104 301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax) 301-457-4067 (TDD) e-mail: pio@census.gov Edward D. Montfort 301-763-8551 Median Value of Nation's Homes Hits $92,500 Mark, Census Bureau Reports The median value of owner-occupied homes in the nation in 1995 was $92,500, according to a report released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The median value of the 63.5 million owner-occupied units varied greatly by region: from $140,300 in the West and $118,900 in the Northeast to $80,100 in the Midwest and $76,000 in the South. Other highlights from the report, American Housing Survey for the United States in 1995, H150/95, include: - 65 percent of the occupied housing units were owned or being bought compared with 35 percent that were being rented. - 5.8 million total units were constructed between 1991 and 1995. - Most of the new housing construction (units built between 1991 and 1995) took place in the South (2.6 million), followed by the West and the Midwest (both 1.3 million) and the Northeast (600,000). The report, based on the 1995 American Housing Survey, provides information for the nation, inside and outside metropolitan statistical areas, and each of the four regions. The report presents data on the size and composition of the housing inventory, characteristics of its occupants, housing costs, housing and neighborhood quality, and equipment and fuels. It also presents data on mortgages, rent subsidies, previous housing unit of recent movers and reasons for moving. Since data in this report are from a survey, they are subject to sampling variability.-X-The Census Bureau--pre-eminent collector and provider of timely, relevant, and quality data about the people and economy of the United States. In over 100 surveys annually and 20 censuses a decade, evolving from the first census in 1790, the Census Bureau provides official information about America's people, businesses, industries and institutions.
