Your tax dollars bought a new compilation of data from the American (formerly “Annual”) Housing Survey from 1973-2005. Data on housing costs, incomes, structure and neighborhood conditions, commuting, etc. I didn’t find a whole lot of surprises at first look, but it can be a useful and well-designed reference. It’s a 1.6 mb pdf, downloadable here. I suppose hardcopy is also available, though it’s not immediately obvious how to order.