New & Existing Home Sales

The new home sales report is a leading indicator of economic activity.  It reports the the number of new single-family houses sold each month. 

Due to the volatility of this data, economists place more emphasis on the number of existing home sales which uses a much larger sample size (about four times). Unexpected increases in new home sales (table) could be considered inflationary and push interest rates upward.

Existing Home Sales

Existing home sales provide an excellent outlook at housing demand and overall economic activity. The report indicates the number of existing, single-family homes (table) sold during the month. Higher than anticipated increases could be considered inflationary causing bond prices to slide and yields and interest rates to increase.