Consensus Outlook
After a very weak 544,000 rate in October, new home sales in November are expected to bounce higher to 560,000. Prices for new homes, like sales, have also been eroding though to a lesser degree. This report, originally set for December 27, has been rescheduled to January 31. Note that December's data have to be rescheduled.
Relative Performance Index
Econoday's RPI provides a handy summary measure of how an economy has recently been evolving relative to market expectations.
A reading above zero means that the economy in general has been performing more strongly than expected and vice versa for a reading below zero. The closer is the value to the maximum (+100) or minimum (-100) levels, the greater is the degree to which markets have been under- or over-estimating economic activity.
A zero outturn would imply that, on average, the market consensus has been correct. Note too that the index is sensitized to place extra weight upon those indicators that investors consider to be the most important.
Definition
New home sales measure the number of newly constructed homes with a committed sale during the month. The level of new home sales indicates housing market trends and, in turn, economic momentum and consumer purchases of furniture and appliances. Why Investors Care