Here are some of the best questions for a citizen survey about housing affordability, along with practical tips on how to create them. You can quickly generate your own survey using Specific’s AI survey builder—just describe what you want, and have your survey live in seconds.
Best open-ended questions for citizen survey about housing affordability
If you want to hear citizens’ real stories, struggles, and ideas, open-ended questions are your friend. Unlike multiple-choice, these give people room to explain what really matters, letting you discover themes you didn’t expect and reasons that numbers can’t always explain. Below are our picks for the 10 best open-ended questions to explore housing affordability with citizens. Ask these when you want to uncover hidden pain points, suggestions, or personal perspectives that go beyond just “yes/no.”
What challenges have you faced in finding affordable housing in your area?
How has the cost of housing affected your daily life or decisions?
In what ways do you think housing affordability has changed in your community over the past few years?
Can you describe any trade-offs you’ve made to afford your home?
What support or policy changes would help improve housing affordability for you and your neighbors?
How does housing affordability impact your sense of security or long-term plans?
Have you considered moving to a different area due to housing costs? Why or why not?
What role do you believe local government should play in addressing housing affordability?
What types of housing options would better meet your needs within your budget?
If you could suggest one change to make housing more affordable in your area, what would it be?
Open-ended questions like these can reveal root causes, not just symptoms. For example, when nearly one-third of U.S. households spend more than 30% of their income on housing, we can’t just ask if it’s a problem—we need to know how that impacts their lives, what they've tried, and what solutions would genuinely help. [1]
Best single-select multiple-choice questions for citizen survey about housing affordability
Single-select multiple-choice questions are great when you need to quantify results, spot trends, or break the ice before asking a deeper follow-up. They help structure responses, especially when it’s easier for someone to pick an answer from a list than come up with a response from scratch. And once you have a clear answer, you can dive deeper with tailored follow-ups.
Question: In the past year, how much of your household income have you spent on housing costs (rent/mortgage, utilities, etc.)?
Less than 20%
20-30%
31-40%
More than 40%
Not sure
Question: Which of the following best describes your current housing situation?
I own my home
I rent my home
Living with family/friends without paying rent
Temporary/homeless
Other
Question: If you have considered moving due to housing costs, which primary factor influenced your decision?
Unable to afford current area
Lack of suitable affordable options
Desire for better job opportunities elsewhere
Seeking better schools or amenities
Other
When to followup with "why?" It’s a smart move to follow up after a structured question—especially if you want richer context. If someone picks “Unable to afford current area,” ask “Why has affordability become such a challenge for you here?” This simple “why” often unlocks personal stories and unique motivators behind the choice.
When and why to add the "Other" choice? People’s lives don’t fit neatly into boxes. Adding “Other” lets respondents describe unique circumstances—the follow-up can then uncover unexpected issues or ideas. For instance, a citizen may note an unusual local policy that’s impacting their costs, which you’d never discover without an open-ended response.
When you use these types of questions together, you make it easier to spot broad trends while still capturing individual experience. In regions like California, where 40.6% of households are cost-burdened and over half of renters spend more than they can afford, knowing both the “what” and the “why” behind those struggles is key. [3]
NPS-style questions: measuring sentiment and trust
If you want a pulse on overall citizen satisfaction and advocacy around affordability, don’t skip an NPS (Net Promoter Score)-style question. NPS asks, “How likely are you to recommend [something] to a friend or colleague?” and scores from 0 (not at all) to 10 (extremely likely). While it’s typically used to measure company loyalty, it adapts perfectly to public issues like housing:
It delivers a clear, comparable metric over time and across groups.
It triggers follow-up flows: people who score low can be asked what would change their mind or improve their situation.
It’s easy to analyze and easy for respondents to answer—fast and familiar.
For housing affordability, you might ask, “How likely are you to recommend your city/community as a good place for affordable housing?” Then follow up with “What would increase your likelihood to recommend it?” or “Why did you give that score?” If you want a survey built around this framework, try Specific’s NPS survey builder designed for citizen housing issues.
The power of follow-up questions
Follow-up questions are what transform surveys from static checklists into deep, two-way conversations. If you only ask surface-level questions, you might get data, but you’ll miss richer context—the “so what” behind citizens’ responses. That’s why Specific’s conversational surveys use AI to ask tailored follow-ups: if someone mentions they’re struggling because of high utilities, the AI can immediately dive deeper (“Can you share more about what’s driving your utility costs?”), all in real-time.
This makes the feedback process dynamic, detailed, and efficient—saving time that would otherwise be spent on back-and-forth followup emails. Thanks to a smart followup system, respondents feel genuinely heard and motivated to share more.
Citizen: “I had to downsize because my landlord raised the rent.”
AI follow-up: “What impact has downsizing had on your daily life and wellbeing?”
You can see how the conversation doesn't stop at a vague statement—it unpacks emotional or practical consequences.
How many followups to ask? Most of the time, 2-3 followups are all you need to reveal a complete story or clarify a main point. It’s wise to let people skip ahead if they’ve already provided the key information. Specific lets you set the maximum number, or even let the AI stop when it’s satisfied.
This makes it a conversational survey—one that feels like a genuine conversation and adapts on the fly, instead of a cold, scripted interview.
AI analysis and easy synthesis—Collecting more depth doesn’t make analysis harder. With Specific’s AI survey response analysis features, it’s easy to find patterns and summarize large amounts of text, so you’re never lost in a sea of answers.
Curious how this works in practice? Try building a survey and see firsthand how follow-ups can drive more meaningful, actionable insights from your respondents.
How to write a prompt for ChatGPT to generate questions about housing affordability
Want to brainstorm a first set of questions on your own using ChatGPT or another GPT-based tool? Start simple, then iterate with context. Here’s how:
For a quick start, use:
Suggest 10 open-ended questions for citizen survey about housing affordability.
But you get dramatically better results if you give more detail on your goals, your audience, and why you’re asking. For example:
We’re preparing a survey for urban citizens aged 25-60 to understand how rising housing costs affect daily life, moving decisions, and wellbeing. Please generate 10 open-ended questions designed to uncover actionable stories, challenges, and solutions related to housing affordability.
Once you have a draft, ask ChatGPT to organize and refine further:
Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.
Pick the most relevant categories—like “personal impact”, “future plans”, “community solutions”—then ask for more depth:
Generate 10 questions for categories: impact on families, policy ideas, financial coping strategies.
This prompt-tuning approach yields a powerful survey, and it’s how Specific’s AI survey generator delivers great results consistently.
What is a conversational survey?
Conversational surveys mimic a real back-and-forth chat—respondents feel understood and engaged, not interrogated by a soulless form. With Specific, each question adapts to the responses, asking smart follow-ups and skipping unnecessary prompts. The result? Higher quality insights, less survey fatigue, and a friendlier, more “human” experience for everyone involved.
Here’s how manual vs. AI-generated surveys stack up:
Manual Surveys | AI-Generated Conversational Surveys |
|---|---|
Static, fixed question paths | Adaptive conversations—ask follow-up questions in real time |
Requires manual editing and logic | Automatic flow customization based on user input |
Time-consuming to collect and analyze qualitative context | AI auto-summarizes, categorizes, and answers your questions about results |
Easy to lose nuance | Deeper, context-rich stories for actionable insights |
Why use AI for citizen surveys? Because housing affordability is complex and deeply personal. AI-driven conversational surveys adapt to each response, ask targeted follow-ups, and gather the nuance that makes data meaningful. Plus, you can easily use AI survey builder tools like Specific to launch comprehensive, high-quality surveys without wasting hours on manual setup or analysis.
When you use Specific, you get the best user experience for both the respondent and the creator. Citizens feel heard, and you get reliable data—no more drop-offs or incomplete stories.
See this housing affordability survey example now
Start engaging your community and get real insights from real people—faster and more deeply—through AI-powered, conversational citizen surveys about housing affordability. See the difference for yourself and unlock insights that drive action today.