We want to give you a clear, unbiased picture of what’s happening in the U.S. housing market—right now and into the foreseeable future.
To accomplish that, we gather data from a wide range of trusted sources and analyze it in-house, turning the raw numbers into useful insights.
Our Data & Information Sources
We monitor a wide range of public and private data sources to help our readers understand what’s happening in the housing market, including the following:
1. Government & Quasi-Government Agencies
These organizations provide foundational, large-scale data on the U.S. economy and housing sector. They are the bedrock of our market analysis.
- U.S. Census Bureau: For demographic trends, housing vacancies, and new construction data (e.g., housing starts, building permits).
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: For employment data and inflation metrics (e.g., Consumer Price Index), which are critical drivers of the housing market.
- Federal Housing Finance Agency: For the official Home Price Index (HPI), which tracks changes in single-family home values.
- Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae: For weekly mortgage rate surveys, market forecasts, and research on housing affordability and consumer sentiment.
2. Real Estate Industry & Trade Groups
These sources provide timely, industry-specific data and on-the-ground sentiment from real estate professionals. We monitor news from the following organizations:
- National Association of REALTORS: For data on existing-home sales, pending home sales, and affordability indices, forecasts and more.
- National Association of Home Builders: For builder confidence indices and analysis of construction trends across the United States.
- Mortgage Bankers Association: For mortgage application data, industry forecasts, and analysis of mortgage lending standards.
3. Private Sector Data & Analytics Firms
Private firms offer granular, near-real-time data on market activity, which complements the slower-moving government reports. Examples include:
- Zillow and Redfin: For real-time listing data, inventory levels, sale-to-list price ratios, and proprietary market reports.
- Cotality (formerly CoreLogic): For in-depth property data, foreclosure reports, home price analytics, and other housing-related insights.
- ICE Mortgage Technology: For trends relating to mortgage loan origination and processing, including borrower criteria and standards.
Our Research/Analysis Process
Data alone is not insight. Our process involves several key steps to turn raw information into meaningful analysis:
- Data Aggregation: We systematically collect and organize data from the sources listed above as it is released.
- Cross-Verification: We compare data points from different sources to verify trends and place new information into historical and economic context.
- AI Deep Dive: We use AI to conduct deeper market analysis involving large amounts of commentary and data (with human oversight).
- Trend Identification: We look for patterns, shifts, and inflection points in the data to understand the direction of the market.
- Distillation & Synthesis: We filter out the noise and connect the dots, synthesizing our findings into concise and easy-to-understand reports.
This methodology allows us to deliver useful insights not available elsewhere.
Questions or Corrections?
If you have questions or corrections, please email us at editor@homebuyinginstitute.com.
Disclaimer: Our newsletter often provides predictions for the real estate market. Such views are the equivalent of an educated guess and should be treated as such.