Housing is the weak link in an otherwise upbeat trend for the US economy. Deciding if this is a temporary soft patch for real estate or the start of something darker is still a work in progress. The potential for trouble is certainly lurking, as the recent run of weak data in residential sales and construction show. Given the influential link between housing and economic activity generally, watching this sector closely is critical these days. The truth will out eventually, but a clearer picture based on the hard data for several key metrics will take months. It doesn’t help that several reports are published with a significant lag. For example, we won’t see numbers on April’s housing starts until May 16. Fortunately, there are more timely numbers to watch to supplement the analysis—numbers that may drop relatively early clues on where housing’s headed. For example, here are three data sets that deserve close attention for tracking conditions in the housing market on a real-time or quasi-real-time basis.
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