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Economy in Brief
Delay in Release
of Data for Construction, MSIO, Intl Trade, Wholesale Trade, Monthly Treasury, Retail Sales, Business Sales & Inventories, and Housing Starts Due to Lapse in Federal Government Funding.
U.K. Retail Sales Begin to Lose Momentum
U.K. retail sales fell by a sharp 1% in December...
Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index Rebounds; Pricing Pressure Eases
The Philadelphia Fed reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index increased to 17.0 during January...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Slip
Initial claims for jobless insurance eased to 213,000 (-2.6% y/y) during the week ended January 12...
Passenger Car Registrations Hold to Low Ground in Europe
Passenger car registrations in Europe fell on a year-over-year comparison for the fourth consecutive months in December...
by Tom Moeller February 16, 2005
The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Composite Housing Market Index fell again in February to 68 versus 70 in January.
Only the current sales of new single family homes component fell. The index components of prospective sales and the traffic of prospective buyers were stable.
During the last twenty years, annual changes in the composite index had an 83% correlation with the change in new home sales. There's been an 86% correlation with the change in single family housing starts.
The NAHB index is a diffusion index based on a survey of builders. Readings above 50 signal that more builders view conditions as good than poor.
Visit the National Association of Home Builders using this link.
| Nat'l Association of Home Builders | Feb | Jan | Feb '04 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composite Housing Market Index | 68 | 70 | 66 | 68 | 64 | 61 |
