Residential Real Estate

Residential real estate is an area developed for people to live on, and may be restricted by local zoning ordinances. The following selected books titles, associations, government resources, real estate web sites, and statistical information and reports, provide insight into this real estate sector. If you are doing research on the history of your home, consider consulting our library guide House History: A Guide to Uncovering the Stories of Local Buildings and Properties

Almanac

The general collections of the Library of Congress are rich in print materials on the topic of residential real estate research. The book listed below link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are provided when available.

Plunkett's real estate & construction industry almanac. by Plunkett Research
Call Number: HD251 .P58
This comprehensive almanac of the real estate and construction industry profiles top firms in the industry, statistics, and market trends. Industry statistics include: real estate value, housing inventory, assets and liability, mortgages outstanding and by holder, demographics on home ownership, home sales, construction, vacancy rates, and sector employment. There is a large index of companies within industry groups, with contact information, financial data, executive salaries as well as growth plans. The text contains trade association information. A limited amount of this information is available online from Hathi Trust External and the Plunkett Research Online database is available on-site.

Real Estate Associations

The following list of external websites includes both U.S. and overseas associations and organizations involved in the real estate field.

American Institute of Architects (AIA) External
The web site includes a directory of AIA architects. The AIA publishes a Consensus Construction Forecast.
International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI®) External
InterNACHI is an association for home inspectors, and provides their members with training, education, certification and licensing and supports business growth.
National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) External
The NAHB is a trade association representing home builders, remodelers, manufacturing, building material suppliers, and the mortgage finance industry. It does advocacy work in the areas of mortgage finance, sustainability, and codes. It provides information on housing starts. The Association provides educational seminars, courses, and an annual convention.
National Association of Housing Cooperatives (NAHC) External
Cooperative housing are organizations where residents own the building as a group and each owns a share of the property, rather than their unit. Residents form a shared corporation that handles the management of the building. Limited-equity cooperatives limit the sale and purchase price of the shares to retain affordability. Most limited-equity co-ops only open membership to low and moderate income residents. NAHC has a number of publications, an annual conference, and advocates with government on items like green rewards incentives for multifamily housing.
National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) External
This NAR link is for state and local real estate boards and includes an email and phone contact for each organizations. The local organizations will provide contacts for member realtors.
National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM®) External
The National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM®) is a trade organization for the residential property management industry. The Association provides professional designation and certificates, educational programs, and advocacy.
U.S. Green Building Council (LEED) External
The site contains a membership directory of 12,000+ companies, nonprofits, educational institutions, state & local governments, professional organizations, and trade organizations. There is a directory of LEED projects, and a directory of staff members. There is a Resoruce Library, publications, and educational information.

Government Resources Related to Real Estate

Real estate and mortgages are heavily regulated on the local, regional, and federal level. The following government websites can enhance your research on these topics.

Assessor and Property Tax Resources, Online Searches External
This link provides assessor and property tax records resources by state. Each state has an office that handles property assessment. The name of the office will vary by state.
Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce
Information on how to report foreign direct investment in real estate in the United States is available at this site. The Bureau has published estimates of land value in the United States. In April 2015, the BEA published a paper that values a mosaic of parcels, census tracts, and counties of various sizes in the contiguous (lower 48) United States plus the District of Columbia. Estimates suggest that this 1.89 billion acres of land are collectively worth approximately $23 trillion in 2009 (current prices), with 24% of the land area and $1.8 trillion of the value held by the federal government. Publishes the Survey of Current Business starting in 1921. This is available online or at the Library of Congress under HC101 K23.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau External
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a U.S. government agency that makes sure banks, lenders, and other financial companies treat the customer fairly. Provides a consumer complaint database, information about the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, and information on mortgage performance trends.
Department of Energy (DOE)
This site includes information on home design, weatherization, landscaping, buying electricity, and selecting energy efficient appliances. Energy, Efficiency, and Renewable Energy (EERE) provides information on alternative energy and conservation methods.
Fannie Mae
The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), known as Fannie Mae, is a U.S. government-sponsored enterprise and a publicly traded company. This site offers industry news, pricing on mortgage backed securities and debt instruments as well as market for Fannie Mae owned homes.
Foreclosure Resource Center, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
This site includes research, publications, speeches and select data related to foreclosure and stability, with a focus on the Sixth District of the Federal Reserve. Includes a Foreclosure Response podcast, and links to national foreclosure related data at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Urban Institute, The Reinvestment Fund, and HUD. Contains full text links to publications on the effect of foreclosure in the Atlanta Fed District.
Nationwide Environmental Title Research, NetrOline External
This public portal provides a gateway to official state websites and those for Tax Assessors' and Recorder's offices. Includes property details, comparable properties, and parcel maps.
Portico - Real Estate Online Assessors External
This site provides links to real estate assessment offices state by state.
United States Foreclosure Law
This link provides foreclosure law information by state.

General Real Estate Websites

These freely available websites provide authoritative information related to the real estate industry, including construction and housing markets.

RealtyTrac External
RealtyTrac is a real estate information company that provides an online marketplace for foreclosed and defaulted properties. Provides market information and foreclosure trends.
REDFIN External
Redfin is a publicly traded online real estate brokerage. Provides home value estimates.
Trulia External
Trulia real estate guides by state. Each guide provides information on sales statistics, home sale price trends, and local information in top real estate markets in the United States.
Zillow External
This site is an online real estate database company that allows you to search for residential real estate for sale and for rent, it provides information on real estate agents, provides information on home loans, and allows you to list a property. Zillow Research produces home value reports and metrics for the nation and over 130 metropolitan statistical areas, having recently added census data. Zillow Research provides reports that identify market trends including five and ten year annualized change. Zillow developed a automated valuation model (AVM) that provides information on housing wealth.

Statistical Information and Reports

The following links to government information, print resources, and external websites provide information on demographics, statistics, and other data related to the U.S. real estate industry. The Library of Congress has extensive Census collections. Refer to "Locating U.S. Census Publications in the Library of Congress," for additional information, or consult with Business Reference Services or submit a inquiry to Ask A Librarian.

Affordable Housing, HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
These reports, executive summaries, case studies, and guidebooks span the fields of housing and urban development and are available as free downloads. Most reports can also be ordered in hard copy from the HUD User Web Store
American Fact Finder, U.S. Census Bureau
Annual population estimates, demographic and housing estimates, general housing characteristics, and general demographic characteristics.
American Housing Survey (AHS)
The AHS is sponsored by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The survey is the most comprehensive national housing survey in the United States, breaking down information into housing units. Researchers can create their own tables from the more recent AHS national surveys. Consult with a reference librarian in the Adams Building for assistance accessing print or HathiTrust versions on site.
Building Permits Survey, U.S. Census Bureau
Provides data on building permits by metropolitan area, county, states, and regions. Historical data is available.
Historical Housing Data, U.S. Census Bureau
Historical housing data are provided by the U.S. Census Bureau and other agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae). It includes 60 years of decennial censuses, construction history tables, historical housing vacancy and ownership rates, housing patterns, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Thematic Maps, and Fannie Mae Research and Analysis.
Housing Data, U.S. Census Bureau
The Census Bureau's housing data present a comprehensive picture of housing in America. Covers such topics as housing affordability, housing patterns, housing vacancies, new housing construction, geographical mobility, rental housing and residential financing. The web site also includes the following surveys: American Community Survey (ACS), American Housing Survey (AHS), and the Building Permits Survey. The Library of Congress has the print collection of the U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of the Housing. Consult with a reference librarian in the Adams Building for assistance accessing print or HathiTrust versions on site.
Industry Statistics Portal, Construction NAICS: 23 - Construction, U.S. Census Bureau
Data on single dwelling, multi-family, industrial and commercial building, civil engineering construction and the specialty building trades such as masonry,
National Association of Home Builders External
New and existing home sales reports and statistics, including starts and permits, lumber prices, home sales, and mortgage rates.
Population and Housing Unit Estimates Visualizations, U.S. Census Bureau
A typical Census Bureau visualization is a visual presentation of data made with charts, tables, maps, and other graphic elements. Visualizations are often interactive and contain text for labeling, but do not have the narrative text of infographics. Like infographics, they are effective because they simplify information and make use of the human ability to see patterns and trends. Most of the visualizations can be shared, embedded, downloaded, and printed. Source and methodology information is provided.
U.S. Housing Market Conditions, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,
The USHMC website contains all the national, regional, state, metropolitan, and local data and analysis in one location. You may search by geography to obtain all the reports available for a particular area. Alternatively, you may search by the type of report. Each report contains different levels of data and/or analysis.

Housing statistics handbook. Housing and Home Finance Agency, Office of Housing Economics
Call Number: Call Number: HD7293 .A5 1948
This handbook contains mostly urban or non-farm rural statistics. It includes foreclosure data, housing supply/need, residential construction costs, housing finance, occupancy/vacancy, building permits, number of rooms, rent/owner occupied. Most data is from around 1946, although some data goes back to the 1920's. Race and household size data is included. Available online from Hathi Trust External

Housing Vacancies and Home Ownership, U.S. Census Bureau
This site provides free online access to annual statistics on housing vacancies, including Annual Reports from 1995 (Including Metro Area and State Data). Provides historical tables back as far as 1956, revised housing inventories since the 2000s, and current rental and occupancy graphs. You can create your own time series and trend charts on over a dozen variables, including housing vacancies and ownership, manufactured housing, new home sales, and construction spending.

Housing statistics of the United States by Bernan Press U.S. databook series
Call Number: HD7293.A1 H654
Published/Created: 1999-2012
Housing Statistics is a comprehensive source for historical statistics on households, housing, and housing finance. There are numerous tables that provide data on a wide range of housing topics, including: household and housing unit characteristics; prices, rents, and affordability; housing production and investment; home mortgage lending; and federal housing programs.
ed.1-ed.-5 (1997-2012)

House Price Index
The FHFA House Price Index (HPI) is a broad measure of the movement of single-family house prices. The HPI is a weighted, repeat-sales index, meaning that it measures average price changes in repeat sales or refinancing on the same properties. This information is obtained by reviewing repeat mortgage transactions on single-family properties whose mortgages have been purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac since January 1975. The HPI serves as a timely, accurate indicator of house price trends at various geographic levels. Because of the breadth of the sample, it provides more information than is available in other house price indexes. It also provides housing economists with an improved analytical tool that is useful for estimating changes in the rates of mortgage defaults, prepayments and housing affordability in specific geographic areas.

Real Estate Industry: A Resource Guide