The Week Ahead: Wishful Thinking for New Home Sales

It's no secret that inventory is on the scarce side in the housing market, which is causing a domino effect of issues for homebuyers trying to purchase a home. The mortgage industry is now anticipating where new single-family home sales will fall, following existing-home sales major feat against supply challenges last week.

New single-family home sales and the median home price began the year on weak note in terms of the monthly changes, but there were some optimistic signs behind the data.

According to data estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD, new single-family home sales in January 2016 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 494,000, down 9.2 percent from the revised December rate of 544,000 and 5.2 percent below the January 2015 estimate of 521,000.

The decline in the median home price "is not because of widespread discounting but rather a result of builders offering more affordably priced entry-level homes," said Realtor.com Chief Economist, Jonathan Smoke.

Here is the lineup for the week:

Monday, April 25, 2016 

U.S. Census Bureau & HUD New Single-Family Home Sales
10:00 A.M. (EST)

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Meeting Begins

S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index (HPI)
9:00 A.M. (EST)

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index
10:00 A.M. (EST)

FOMC Meeting Announcement
2:00 P.M. (EST)

Ocwen Financial's First Quarter Earnings

Thursday, April 21, 2016

U.S. Bureua of Labor Satistics GDP
8:30 A.M. (EST)