New home sales — Aug. 23

The Commerce Department will release new home sales data for July on Tuesday, Aug. 23. Last month, the department announced new home sales rose 3.5% between May and June to an annual rate of 592,000.

New home sales, which represent about 10% of all home sales, are a volatile statistic and are often revised. Last month's strong numbers surpassed economist predictions and were likely the result of low mortgage rates and the ongoing lack of inventory.

So far this month, housing market reports have been positive, as builder confidence bumped up two points and housing starts rose 2.1%. Will Tuesday's new home sales data continue the positive run of housing reports this month?

'Ad hoc' apartments feature article — Aug. 23

Late last month, San Francisco passed a set of regulations that allows building owners to convert unused spaces into rentable units — a move that city officials expect will add 14,000 new units to the city's housing stock. But there's more to it than just throwing up a wall and a door. In addition to being affordable, these units must also be safe and meet everyday needs. In our feature article on Tuesday, Aug. 23, we'll hear what experts say are the challenges in making these "ad hoc" apartments a place to call home.

Existing home sales — Aug. 24

The National Association of Realtors will release existing home sales data for July on Wednesday, Aug. 24. Last month, the NAR reported existing home sales inched up 1.1% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million.

However, despite the fourth consecutive month of gains in existing home sales, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun cautioned that even the current strong economic conditions might not be enough for the market to be unaffected by obstacles of low inventory and rising home prices.

Will existing home sales continue their upward trajectory this month, or will they fall for the first time since February?

Protests against construction feature article — Aug. 25

For many communities, large construction projects often bring jobs, new conveniences and economic benefits. However, for reasons that can include traffic, noise or a change in the character of the neighborhood, some groups will do anything they can to prevent certain kinds of development. In our feature article on Thursday, Aug. 25, we'll look at how successful these protests are, as well as what builders and developers can do about them.