The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Census Bureau have decided to delay the start of data collection for the American Housing Survey for three months, from the beginning of May until the beginning of August. The agencies still intend to survey 30 metropolitan areas in 2011, a large expansion over recent practice. The delay is due to the current budget debate, which suggests that HUD may receive less than it had planned for. The delay in data collection will also delay release of the outputs of the survey, now due out in the summer or fall of 2012.