New Home Sales is an economic indicator which records sales of newly constructed residences in the United States of America.
The United States Census Bureau

United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

 publishes New Home Sales statistics monthly on their website. Statistics are reported as unadjusted monthly rates and seasonally adjusted

Seasonal adjustment

Seasonal adjustment is a statistical method for removing the seasonal component of a time series that is used when analyzing non-seasonal trends. It is normal to report un-adjusted data for current unemployment rates, as these reflect the actual current situation...

 annual rates.

Economic significance

Because New Home Sales trigger consumption, they have significant market impact upon release. New Home Sales also serve as a good indicator of economic turning points due to its consumer income sensitivity. Generally, when economic conditions slow down, New Home Sales serves as an early indicator of such a depression.

Limitations

Several cautions apply when interpreting New Home Sales statistics:

• Statistics exclude any new houses that were not built for immediate sale. For example, in the situation where a purchaser commissions a builder to build a house on a lot that the purchaser already owns, this housing unit would not be included in the statistics. Other construction statistics, such as Permits
  Construction permit
  A construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...
  
  , Starts
  Housing starts
  Housing starts is the number of privately owned new houses on which construction has been started in a given period. This data is divided into three types: single-family houses, townhouses or small condos, and apartment buildings with five or more units.Each apartment unit is considered a single...
  
  and Completions, do include virtually all new residential construction.
• Sales are reported as of the month that a customer signs a sales contract or the builder accepts a deposit. The house can be in any stage of construction.
• Sales are not reduced to account for sales contracts which are subsequently cancelled by the customer or the builder. However, in those situations where a cancellation occurs, the house is not re-counted upon a subsequent sale to another customer.

External links

• New Residential Sales definitions and statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau