Data Services
Our Work
Using our Data Clearinghouse, IHS conducts research and analysis on affordable housing issues and the changing dynamics of neighborhood housing markets. We connect this work to housing policy and placed-based community development issues by publishing a variety of targeted research products and data indicators and through community engagement with a wide range of local and national housing stakeholders.
IHS also provides technical assistance and custom analysis to a wide range of practitioners, including community-based organizations, government agencies, and policy makers. These active relationships inform our work and connect it to housing policy and practice.
Our Team
IHS is a group of talented researchers with over 30 years of combined experience in housing and economic research. Our team is skilled in data collection, data analysis, map design and production, econometrics, and statistics, which allows us to dive deeply into housing patterns and trends. These skills are matched with an extensive knowledge of urban history and policy, enabling us to transform our data into products that tell a clear story.
The IHS Data Clearinghouse
The foundation of IHS’s work is an extensive clearinghouse of data that makes it possible for us to conduct in-depth analysis of neighborhood housing markets. We connect many of these data sets to individual properties via county property records. This allows us to conduct research and spatial analysis at levels ranging from the city block to the region. IHS can also develop custom geographies specific to policy or program implementation.
The IHS Data Clearinghouse includes regularly updated data on:
- House price trends
- Foreclosure activity
- Property transactions
- Mortgage recordings
- Property taxes
- Property characteristics
- Other housing market conditions
Our Services And Sample Projects
- In-Depth Analysis. IHS uses a range of analytical techniques to create products that provide housing and community development practitioners critical information for developing place-based policies and programs.
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REGIONAL HOUSING MARKET SEGMENTATION
Using statistical clustering methods, IHS created a robust analysis of the Chicago metro area that identified eight different neighborhood classifications based on factors including: demographic and socioeconomic conditions, housing affordability, housing stock, and market investment patterns. This analysis created a framework that enabled regional housing agencies to consider tailored policies specific to local neighborhood characteristics.
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- Tracking Data Trends. IHS collects data and transforms it into custom indicators that highlight housing market trends and patterns in regions ranging in size from several counties to a few blocks.
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COOK COUNTY HOUSE PRICE INDEX
House price trends are one of the more important indicators of a neighborhood’s economic health. Understanding how these trends vary on a small scale, between different areas of a city or region, is critical for developing policies and investment strategies responsive to real neighborhood conditions. IHS developed its Cook County House Price Index to highlight changing prices for single-family homes in over 30 submarkets, allowing practitioners to see both market change over time and overall stability in relation to other submarkets.
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- Understanding Impact. IHS restructures data into products that help regional stakeholders understand and convey the impact that place-based investments or policies have on the housing market.
- After local groups expressed concern about rising housing prices after construction began on a new 2.7 mile linear park called The 606, IHS performed an analysis to illustrate how the housing market changed in the blocks surrounding the park. Findings confirmed that buyers were more willing to pay a significant premium on housing near the park where residents were more demographically diverse and of a more modest income, suggesting a rising risk of lost affordability and displacement in this area.