Recent Updates
- US: Monthly Treasury Statement, Wholesale Trade (Jun), Consumer Prices (Jul)
- Brazil: Retail Trade (Jul)
- North Macedonia: Central Bank Bills (Jul)
- Albania: Banking system liabilities (Q2)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. Federal Government Budget Deficit Shrinks in July
The U.S. Treasury Department reported a federal budget deficit of $211.1 billion in July...
U.S. Mortgage Applications Rose Slightly in the Latest Week
Mortgage applications increased 0.2% (-62.9% y/y) from one week earlier...
U.S. Productivity Declines in Q2, Pushing Unit Labor Costs Higher
Nonfarm business sector productivity fell 4.6% (AR) during Q2'22...
U.S. Small Business Optimism Edged Up in July
The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index edged up to 89.9 in July...
U.S. Gasoline & Crude Oil Prices Continue Weakening
Retail gasoline prices declined to $4.04 per gallon (+27.3% y/y) last week...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller October 19, 2005
Following three consecutive months of decline, the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Composite Housing Market Index gained back in October all of the September drop with a 3.1% increase. Nevertheless the index remained 6.9% below the June peak.
During the last twenty years, year to year changes in the annual composite index had an 85% correlation with the change in single family housing starts.
The m/m increase reflected strong gain throughout the country except in the Northeast.
The October index for sales of single family homes in six months gained back one third of the prior month's 9.1% drop (-8.9% y/y) while the index for current sales reversed all of a modest September fall (-3.9% y/y).
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.
Nat'l Association of Home Builders | Oct | Sept | Oct '04 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Composite Housing Market Index | 67 | 65 | 69 | 68 | 64 | 61 |