Although they account for about 90% of the entire housing market, existing home sales are the least consequential to the economy. That's because building new homes entails a bunch of economic activity, from architects, builders, building trades contractors, landscapers in the building process, followed by furniture, appliances, and yard improvements after the owners move in. Existing home sales on average have very little of the former, and much less of the latter.
But because existing homes compete with new homes for living space, it's worthwhile to note that they confirm what we've been seeing in