Regional
(2009-10-19)
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GREELEY, CO
(KUNC) -
Recent foreclosure numbers show the housing market is not recovering as expected. As more of these homeowners relocate to temporary housing, U.S. Census officials are worried that the 2010 survey will become even more difficult and costly to complete.
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More than 937,000 homeowners nationally were in some stage of foreclosure over the summer. For some, that meant selling a house. For others, it was finding a new place to live. Neither group was probably thinking about next year's census and how the government would find them.
"It makes the census more expensive," says Robert Groves, director of the U.S. Census. He's in charge of the 10-year, $14 billion effort that will send forms to every American household next April. He's concerned that when the government sends out questionnaires, they'll arrive at thousands of foreclosed homes.
"We'll probably knock on the door several times to make sure that there are indeed vacant homes," says Groves.
And that could contribute to undercounting, according to Groves. The stakes are particularly high for Colorado, which stands to lose $850 in federal funding for each resident that isn't included.
Groves says foreclosed property owners who are temporarily living with friends or relatives don't typically think of themselves as part of the new household. But from the census' perspective, they are.
"Even though they may not think of themselves as living in a friend's or relative's home, we want them counted there," says Groves.
Where Are They?
Just where a person or family moves to after a home is foreclosed varies widely. According to the Colorado Division of Housing's Ryan McMaken, some rent single family homes or apartments, while others live with relatives or family. Some end up on the streets.
"It depends a little bit on why people are foreclosing as to what they end up doing," says McMaken. "Certainly it's not a case where everyone that forecloses ends up homeless, although that certainly does happen."
McMaken says there's been little data gathered on this subject. But that's not stopping the Division of Housing from sharing other foreclosure data and working closely with the State Demography Office, which analyzes Census data once it's collected.
"Our general take to foreclosures is that they may effect where people are on census day, but it's not going to effect whether they'll be counted," says Deb Cameron, media specialist at the U.S. Census Bureau in Denver. Her office is also coordinating with towns and community groups across the state to identify where these foreclosed property owners relocate to. In the event that someone becomes homeless, the census is in contact with group living quarters, like homeless shelters.
"Those processes are still in place and it's those processes that catch folks who may have not been living in the same home previously," she says.
Before April Start
The Colorado Division of Housing expects the number of foreclosed homes to stay flat through next April, when the census forms go out. The number of foreclosures in the state isn't nearly as large as places like Florida or Southern California, according to McMaken.
"I think as an overall issue in Colorado it will be somewhat diminished compared to some of those hard hit states," says McMaken. "But nevertheless it's something that people will have to think about."
That may be a bit of good news for census workers in Colorado, who continue to initiate "complete count" committees with local civic leaders and other groups.
But nationally, there are even more obstacles for the Census Bureau. A study by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that because of tight budgets in several major U.S. cities, like New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, there is less money and manpower for outreach in 2010 compared to 2000.
There's still time to fill in the gaps. Census forms don't hit mailboxes until April 1st 2010.
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