This section presents statistics on land use, land ownership registration and tenure, housing characteristics, building permits, type and value of construction activities.

Total land area in American Samoa consists of 48,767 acres and about two thirds of the land is steeply sloping and virtually inaccessible. Within the last five years, approximately 7,600 acres have been registered in five major categories of Land Ownership.  Communal or native type of ownership still holds with 26.6 percent, Individually – owned Land at 25.1 percent, 21.7 percent used by Government, 13.4 percent for Freehold, and 13.2 percent for Church use.

Per 2000 census, American Samoa registered 10,052 housing units. Of the 10,052 units, 93.0 percent were occupied and 7.0 percent (703) were vacant units. Of the 9,349 occupied housing units, 77.2 percent were owner – occupied and 22.8 percent were renter occupied. Tafuna village in the Tualauta county had the highest number of  occupants per room on both owner – occupied and renter – occupied units.

Approximately 60 percent of the 10,052 total registered housing units are located in the Maoputasi county and Tualauta county. Furthermore, the counties of Tualauta and Maoputasi absorbed most of the growth, a combined 71.6 percent of the rental market as areas where most of the rental units were found.

The construction boom peaked in the 1990 – 1994 period, which accounted for almost 3,000 newly built structures, it started to decline from 1995 to march of 2000. Of the areas that experienced most of the growth were the Tualauta County with 38.5 percent, 20.2 percent for Maoputasi County, and 10.0 percent for the Lealataua County. 

Total permits issued surged 28.8 percent from 2003 to 2004. Whether that would translate into a booming housing market remained to be seen. One thing for certain, the higher volume of permits issued rarely equated to an increase in construction activity output.

  List of Tables 

6.1	Land Ownership Registration:  2000 to 2004 (11kb)
6.2	Housing Units by Tenure, and District and County, American Samoa:  2000(11kb)
6.3	Units in Structure for District and County, American Samoa:  2000(8kb)
6.4	Average Number of Occupants Per Room by Village, American Samoa:  2000(9kb)
6.5	Rooms by District and County, American Samoa:  2000(8kb)
6.6	Bedrooms by District and County, American Samoa:  2000(11kb)
6.7	Persons Per Room by District:  1980 and 1990(8kb)
6.8	Year Structure Built by District and County, American Samoa:  2000(8kb)
6.9	Water Source and Sewage Disposal:  2000(8kb)
6.10	Bathing and Toilet Facilities:  2000(8kb)
6.11	Type of Land Use and Building Permits by Month:  2004(11kb)
6.11a	Type of Land Use and Building Permits by Month:  2003(11kb)
6.12	Number and Estimated Value of Building Permits:  1980 to 2004(10kb)