PCE Deflator, (Personal Consumption Expenditure ... - Morningbull

or consumer confidence is low. Conversely, a rebound in the housing market is often a leading
indicator of an economic recovery.
The report headline is expressed in percentage change in pending home sales from previous
month.
Relevance: Rarely affects markets
Release schedule : 10:00 AM (EST); monthly, 4 weeks after reporting month
Source of report : National Association of Realtors
Web Address : http://www.realtor.org|
Address of release : http://www.realtor.org/Research.nsf/Pages/PHSdata
New Home Sales - United States
Records sales of newly constructed residences in the United States . The figure is a timely gauge
of housing market conditions counting home sales when initial housing contracts are signed.
Because New Home Sales usually trigger a sequence of consumption, they have significant
market impact upon release. In addition to the high expenditure of the new home, buyers are
likely to spend more money on furnishing customizing and financing their home. Consequently, g
rowth in the housing market spurs more consumption, generating demand for goods, services
and the employees who provide them.
Generally the housing market is tracked by a number of reports that mark different stages of the
construction and home sale process. The first stage is Building Permits, which precede Housing
Starts, which lead to Construction Spending, MBA Mortgage Applications and, finally, New Home
Sales and Existing Home Sales. As the headline housing figure, New Home Sales are believed to
control for some of the volatility of other data. For instance, Building Permits and Housing Starts
are considered more indicative of business confidence and production rather than consumer
spending. And while Existing Home Sales figures are more indicative of consumer expenditures,
they are lagging indicators with less predictive value. New Home Sales numbers are considered
confirmatory of housing trends and still predictive of consumer spending.
New Home Sales is also a good indicator of economic turning points due to its sensitivity to
consumer income. Buying a house is always a major expenditure, typically only undertaken when
consumers have sufficient savings or are optimistic about future earnings. Historically, when
economic conditions slow, New Home Sales are one of the first indicators to reflect the change.