That's a great question.
What's missing is sentiment.
Housing starts are a leading indicator of completions. Housing starts measure when the foundation is poured. That's a pretty good indicator that the unit is going to be completed. There's a high correlation between starts and completions, and housing starts are the earlier indicator of that. However, they're not the earliest indicator of sentiment.
At a time like this, when we're hearing on the ground that sentiment is souring, that's an important time to have an indicator that's a little earlier than that. That's why we're looking at permits, because permits happen earlier in a process—you need your permits months or years before you actually get to the point of a housing start.
That's a good indication of sentiment. We're actively looking at increasing our analysis of that.
