Housing Data
The US real estate market is valued over $50 trillion. Generally, this sector accounts for 15% to 18% of GDP. A collection of reports are issued each month, providing insight to the US housing economy.
New Home Sales
New Home Sales data measures the annualized number of new single-family homes sold in the US.
New Homes account for only around 15% of annual housing transactions in the United States. While a smaller market, this data is a leading indicator that can imply changes in existing home sales over the following month or two.
Per the NAR, 25% of houses are sold at the time of completion, while remaining 75% are split between those not yet started and those under construction.
When and where?
Monthly report, issued by the Census Bureau
Announced on the 17th day of the month, refers to prior month's data
Building Permits & Housing Starts
Each month, the Census Bureau releases their New Residential Construction report.
Within this report, the following metrics are reported :
Building Permits - Annualized number of new residential building permits authorized.
Housing Starts - Annualized number of new residential homes that started construction.
Housing Completions - Annualized number of US residential homes that completed construction.
When and where?
Monthly report, per the Census Bureau
Released on the 12th business day of the month, in reference to the prior month's data.
Pending Home Sales
Pending home sales is an index which measures the month over month changes in US homes under contract to be sold (before closing).
This leading indicator provides insight to US housing activity.
When and where?
Monthly report, per the National Association of Realtors
Announced in the last week of the month, refers to prior month's data.
Existing Home Sales
Existing Home Sales data is reported on a national and regional basis, in regards to single-family home sales transactions and values.
A lagging indicator, as the closing timeframe for a house can be 30-60 days. According to NAR - "The majority of transactions are reported when the sales contract is closed"
When and where?
Monthly report, per the National Association of Realtors
Released around the 25th of the month, in reference to the prior month's data.