October housing permits, starts and completions are among this week’s major data releases. Also on the agenda are October existing home sales.
Nov. 18: The Federal Reserve Bank of New York will release the Credit Access Survey. The most recent survey from June 2024 found that the application rate for any kind of credit over the trailing 12 months decreased by 41.2%. The overall rejection rate for credit applications increased to 21.4%, up from 18.7% in February.
Nov. 19: The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will release October’s residential construction data, which records housing permits, starts and completions for the month. Expect disappointing numbers considering the damage and ongoing delays from hurricanes Helene and Milton. In September, housing starts cooled and were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.35 million, 0.5% below the revised August estimates of 1.36 million. Housing completions fell to an annual rate of 1.68 million, 5.7% below August estimates. Building permits were down 2.9% from August.
Nov. 20: The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas will release its Weekly Economic Index (WEI), which provides a snapshot of the state of the U.S. economy based on data available on a daily or weekly basis.
Nov. 21: The National Association of Realtors will release October existing home sales. There are mixed messages as to where home sale figures will be for October. Rising interest rates during the month were expected to put a damper on sales, but Redfin is reporting that sales were up 1.6% month over month, marking the biggest gain since January 2022. In September, home sales slid 1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.84 million. Sales fell 3.5% year over year. Home prices climbed 3.0% year over year to $404,500, the 15th consecutive month of year-over-year increases.
