Update: First Of a Kind Estimator Compares HUD Voucher Costs to Military Basic Allowance for Housing Costs.

Update: The estimator has been updated to version 1.1 to correct a data entry error for one or more BAH areas. The link in the post has been changed to link to version 1.1; and the prior version of the estimator has been deleted.

The short version of this post: I have constructed the first-of-a-kind Excel estimator that allows, for virtually any area of the country, an easy comparison of the 2008 federal government costs of HUD vouchers to military basic allowance for housing [BAH] costs. This new Excel estimator is available HERE and at initial opening it shows the comparative costs for the Portland Oregon BAH area and the Multnomah County FMR area. The estimator requires only two SIMPLE steps to see instant comparisons: 1.Select the BAH area from a list, and 2. Select the Fair Market rent area from a list. The comparison results are immediately displayed in both a table and a graph. (Results for the Portland area are that federal government costs for HUD vouchers are 35% to 48% lower than BAH costs).

The long version of this post: I'm always curious about relative cost for programs that serve similar needs. It occurred to me that I had not previously looked at the relative costs of HUD vouchers compared to what the military costs are for the basic allowance for housing [BAH]. (Wikipedia has much more about the BAH HERE, but in general it is the amount the government provides to a military family if they do not provide housing for that family). The BAH uses an annual survey to determine housing costs, and while there is a "Non Locality" BAH there are also a number of geographic specific BAH's that are similar but not identical to HUD Fair Market rent areas. The BAH uses anchor rates that are tied to bedroom sizes and housing types, so it is possible to extract 2008 BAH costs by housing type and bedroom size and to then relate those costs to HUD Fair Market Rents which vary by bedrom size.

The challenge is to use technology below the surface to calculate, extract and and compare several thousand possible cost variables. Above the surface, at the user level, the key is to keep things simple. I think the new Excel estimator HERE does a good job of keeping the complexity of the task hidden, requiring only two simple inputs from the user, and then showing results in a understandable tabular and graphical formats. (To avoid inadvertent errors, the workbook is protected so that only the inputs for the two areas can be changed).

I hope this new estimator sparks the interests of others in developing similar tools to make cost and other comparisons. I'm always looking for feedback; please add comments to this post or email me at housepdx@gmail.com .