Why Did "New" Home Sales Drop, and "Existing" Not?

Well, it's all in the fine print.

"A sale of the new house occurs with the signing of a sales contract or the acceptance of a deposit."

Signing the contract could occur as much as 10 months before occupancy.

As to 'existing' home sales:

"the majority of transactions are reported when the sales contract is closed."

Usually, that's 60 days before occupancy.

But what's important to know is this:

Given the difference in definition, new home sales usually lead existing home sales regarding changes in the residential sales market by a month or two.

So what you saw in "new home sales" a couple of days ago is likely to be echoed in "existing home sales" about 60 days from now.

That's not too pretty.

HT: Calculated Risk