Fourth Annual Report of the Housing Assistance Supply Experiment

Reports progress of the Supply Experiment from October 1976 through September 1977 and research findings based primarily on the first two years of program operations and the first two annual housing market surveys. Although the experimental sites (Brown County, Wisconsin, and St. Joseph County, Indiana) were chosen for contrasts in population, housing quality, and market condition, program outcomes have been similar. In both places about 8 percent of all households are enrolled. About half are renters and half are homeowners; most are either elderly persons or single parents. Housing allowances averaging $900 annually ease their budgetary problems, and many have repaired their dwellings or moved in order to qualify for payments. In neither place has the program noticeably disturbed the housing market or destabilized neighborhoods. Compared with other transfer programs, the administration of housing allowances is efficient and equitable.