Post Adjustment > Expenditure Surveys > General Questions (during the survey) > I am a home owner and I cannot find any place in the questionnaire to report expenditures for mortgage, utilities or other housing costs, like renters. Why?

We understand that you, as a home owner, also incur expenditures for mortgage, utilities or other housing costs like renters. However, under the existing methodology, your costs are approximated by the average costs for renters at your duty station. In particular, your mortgage is approximated by the average rent for your dwelling type and size as reported by the renters responding to the survey.

For example, if you own a 2-bedroom apartment, then we will take the average rent, facilities and utilities costs, and other housing costs incurred by all renters of 2-bedroom apartments at your duty station, and assume these to be your housing related expenditures. Thus, once you declare the dwelling type and size that you own, these average housing related costs for renters are assumed to be your housing related costs, and they contribute to the determination of the weight for the housing component of the PAI. This is why it is absolutely important that homeowners complete the questionnaire declaring their dwelling type and size. However, it is not necessary for them to report their housing related expenditures. On the other hand, if you feel that you have extra housing expenditures not otherwise contemplated for renters, you are invited to report them under "other expenditures" and we shall allocate them to the appropriate group whenever possible.

Please note that while not the only methodological approach, the imputation of housing related costs for homeowners is not unique to our surveys as it is also used in the context of national expenditure surveys conducted by national statistical offices (as you can also read from anther FAQ specifically addressing the treatment of mortgages).