Two conflicting portraits of the housing market appear to be forming. On one hand, the median price of existing single-family homes continues to rise to record levels. On the other hand, sales prices on newly constructed homes have been tumbling since February. Did this trend continue in July? Investors find out this week, when July data on new and existing home sales is released.
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Monday, August 22:
EARNINGS TO WATCH: H.J. Heinz Company, J.M. Smucker Company, and Tandy Brands.
Tuesday, August 23:
EXISTING HOME SALES: The National Association of Realtors will report on trends in sales of existing single-family homes in July. While new home prices have started to decline, those on existing homes continue to soar.
INVESTOR CONFIDENCE: State Street is scheduled to release this month's results of its closely followed investor confidence index. Unlike other investor sentiment measures, which simply ask investors how they feel, State Street's index actually measures the level of risk in investment portfolios to determine if confidence is increasing or decreasing. Since the start of the year, investors have been jettisoning risky assets in their portfolios while gravitating to less volatile fare. Will the trend continue?
RICHMOND FED INDEX: The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond will release the latest results of its regional survey of manufacturing activity for the district covering Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
EARNINGS TO WATCH: Williams-Sonoma.
Wednesday, August 24:
NEW HOME SALES: The Commerce Department will report on sales of newly constructed homes in July. In recent months, the median sales price of new homes has tumbled, from $237,300 in February to $214,800 in June. Another drop in July may start to raise some eyebrows on Wall Street.
DURABLE GOODS: The Commerce Department reports on new orders for big-ticket items in July. Despite concerns about the strength of the consumer, durable goods orders are expected to have risen, given the recent uptick in auto sales (thanks to massive incentive programs).
EARNINGS TO WATCH: Dollar Tree Stores, Intuit, Michaels Stores, PetroChina, and PetsMart.
Thursday, August 25:
HELP WANTED INDEX: The Conference Board will release the latest results of its Help Wanted Advertising Index, which gauges the health of the job market by analyzing job listings in major newspapers across the country. In June, the index rose–ever so slightly.
CHICAGO FED INDEX: It's the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's turn to report on the state of the factory sector in its region, which covers much of the Midwest.
EARNINGS TO WATCH: Chico's, Dollar General, and Toll Brothers.
Friday, August 26:
CONSUMER CONFIDENCE: This month's results of the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index are due out.
