Monday Market Forecast: Retail Sales, Home Builders’ Index, Housing Starts and Building Permits

Blog posted On November 14, 2016

Mortgage rates experienced a steeper spike last week, the most significant change in recent months, partially due to the election.  Scheduled reports for this week include retail sales on Tuesday, home builders’ index on Wednesday, and housing starts and building permits on Thursday.

Retail sales measures consumer spending on retail and food services stores.  Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of total economic activity, so the retail sales data provides an adequate indication of consumer confidence.  Last month retail sales saw a 0.6% month over month increase.

The National Association of Home Builders’ releases a housing market index as an economic survey and housing market evaluation.  The index is a collaborative assessment of pending new home sales, expected new home sales, and traffic of prospective buyers into new homes.  Last month the reading dropped two points from the previous month’s reading, with the score coming in at 63.

Housing starts and building permits shed life on the direction the housing market is heading and what to expect in upcoming months.  Last month, housing starts were down 9% and building permits were up 6.3%. 

Mortgage rates have climbed as much as half of a percentage point according to Mortgage Daily News.  After last week’s justified fluctuations, this week expects to see the market settling.  Upcoming November and December numbers should provide a clearer picture of what to expect in 2017.

Sources: MarketWatch, Mortgage Daily News, Bloomberg