29.03.2024

Housing Market Index

Market Consensus Before Announcement. The one key reading out of the factory sector that has yet to show strength is manufacturing production in the Federal Reserve’s industrial production report. Manufacturing production inched 0.1 percent higher in September for only the second gain in five months though factory hours in the employment report point to a strong rebound for October. The report’s other two components, mining and utility production, have been uneven following this season’s hurricanes. Forecasters are calling for a 0.5 percent gain in industrial production for October with manufacturing production seen rising 0.3 percent.

Definition

The National Association of Home Builders produces a housing market index based on a survey in which respondents from this organization are asked to rate the general economy and housing market conditions. The housing market index is a weighted average of separate diffusion indexes: present sales of new homes, sales of new homes expected in the next six months, and traffic of prospective buyers in new homes.

Description

This report provides a gauge of not only the demand for housing, but the economic momentum. People have to be feeling pretty comfortable and confident in their own financial position to buy a house. Furthermore, this narrow piece of data has a powerful multiplier effect through the economy, and therefore across the markets and your investments.

By tracking economic data such as the housing market index, investors can gain specific investment ideas as well as broad guidance for managing a portfolio. Whether the housing market index reflects new home sales or home resales, once a home is sold, it generates revenues for the realtor and the builder. It brings a myriad of consumption opportunities for the buyer. Refrigerators, washers, dryers and furniture are just a few items home buyers might purchase.

The economic “ripple effect” can be substantial especially when you think a hundred thousand new households around the country are doing this every month. Since the economic backdrop is the most pervasive influence on financial markets, home sales have a direct bearing on stocks, bonds and commodities. In a more specific sense, trends in the existing home sales data carry valuable clues for the stocks of home builders, mortgage lenders and home furnishings companies.

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