Building permits, housing starts and new house sales (000s), US

Housing starts measure of the number of residential units on which construction is begun each month. A start in construction is defined as the beginning of excavation of the foundation primarily of residential housing. Building permits are permits taken out in order to allow excavation. Permits lead starts, but permits are not required in all regions of the country, and the level of permits therefore tends to be less than the level of starts over time. The monthly national report is broken down by region: Northeast, Midwest, South, and West. The regional figures are subject to a high degree of volatility due to weather changes and/or natural disasters. The sales figures are released at the same time but in a separate release. This data came from the The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce. The data can be accessed here and here.