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Economy in Brief
U.S. International Trade Collapses in April; Deficit Widens
Trade deficit widens to $69.7 billion...
U.S. Chicago Business Barometer Weakens Further During May
Chicago PMI fell to lowest level since March 1982...
Euro Area EU Indexes Have Minor Bounce
A slug of economic data hit the tape at the end of month...
Durable Goods Orders Collapsed Further in April
Durable goods orders collapsed 17.2% m/m in April...
U.S. Pending Home Sales Plunge to Record Low
Pending home sales fell 21.8% in April...
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 |
