Recent Updates
- Japan: Construction Work Put in Place (Nov), IP (Nov-Final), CPI, Tokyo CPI, Foreign Exchange Trading Volume, Japan Consumer Sentiment (Dec)
- Thailand: Public Finance (Nov)
- Philippines: Construction Materials Retail Price Index (Dec)
- Hong Kong: New Buildings (Nov), Personal Bankruptcy Petitions (Dec)
- Australia: Overseas Arrivals and Departures (Nov)
- CPI by Region (Dec)
- more updates...
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.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...
U.S. Import Prices Pulled Lower by Falling Oil Prices
Import prices fell 1.0% during December following a 1.8% November decline...
U.S. Home Builder Index Improves
The NAHB -Wells Fargo Composite Housing Market Index rose to 58 during January...
by Tom Moeller April 22, 2005
The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Composite Housing Market Index fell to 67 in April versus an upwardly revised 70 in March. The index has fallen in three out of last four months.
All of the index components fell from March's level. The index of current sales is off 6.2% from the December high and the index of prospective sales is down 5%.
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.
Traffic of prospective home buyers has been roughly steady at a high level for over a year.
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 | April | Mar | April '04 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composite Housing Market Index | 67 | 70 | 69 | 68 | 64 | 61 |
