United States Housing Starts
Medium | 1.354 M | 1.324 M |
1.361 M
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Last release | Importance | Actual | Forecast |
Previous
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1.317 M |
1.354 M
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Next release | Actual | Forecast |
Previous
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The Housing Starts indicator reflects the absolute number of new residential construction projects that have begun during the specified month.
Data for the indicator are obtained from a survey of home owners and developers. The sample size covers about 95% of all residential construction projects in the country. The data are adjusted for weather and season variations. The indicator is published in the second decade of each month, as part of the general national construction report. The report also includes construction permits and completed projects.
The volume of new housing starts is rarely interpreted in absolute terms: construction is highly dependent on weather conditions, geographic location in the region, and time of the year. That is why analysts normally measure the indicator change for several months. During the indicator interpretation, economists pay attention to the following reference points.
- An increase in demand for new homes points to the growth of the population welfare.
- An increase in new housing constructions leads to an increase of employment in the construction industry.
- An increase in demand for new homes may lead to an increased demand for other products needed to new home buyers, such as new furniture, appliances, etc. This may spur consumer activity and affect price indices.
- The indicator growth may lead to an increase in the real estate market.
Taking into account the above point, higher readings of housing starts may have a positive impact on the US dollar quotes.
Last values:
actual data
forecast
The chart of the entire available history of the "United States Housing Starts" macroeconomic indicator. The dashed line shows the forecast values of the economic indicator for the specified dates.
A significant deviation of a real value from a forecast one may cause a short-term strengthening or weakening of a national currency in the Forex market. The threshold values of the indicators signaling the approach of the critical state of the national (local) economy occupy a special place.