Existing home sales — Dec. 22

The National Association of Realtors will release its November existing home sales data on Tuesday, Dec. 22. Last month, the NAR reported existing home sales slipped 3.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.36 million units in October. On a positive note, the share of first-time buyers in October reached 31%, up from 29% in September and 29% in October 2014. 

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun attributed the dip in overall October existing-home sales to the lack of available supply, especially for first-time and lower-income buyers. Also, "the mixed signals of slowing economic growth and volatility in the financial markets slightly tempered demand and contributed to the decreasing pace of sales," he said.

Existing sales represent the largest segment of the home sale market, and Tuesday's results will present an important indicator of the current state of the residential industry.

Challenges facing residential solar construction feature article — Dec. 22

Congress' omnibus spending bill included a provision that would extend the existing tax credits for wind and solar generation facilities for five years, then gradually decrease the credits until they phase out. With this extension for solar, we will take a look at the biggest challenges facing wider implementation of residential solar in our feature article on Tuesday, Dec. 22. 

Homebuyer interest in solar has been gaining popularity in the residential industry, as some companies are testing "solar-standard" communities. For example, in October, Lennar announced plans to build Austin, TX's first "solar-standard community," where owners can either lease pre-installed solar panels for $50 a month or buy them outright for $15,000.

Will solar continue to see sustained growth as a viable market in 2016? What are the challenges facing the industry and holding back wider implementation?

New home sales — Dec. 23

The Commerce Department will release new home sales data for November on Wednesday, Nov. 23. Last month, the department announced new home sales in October far surpassed expectations, jumping 10.7% between September and October to an annual rate of 495,000.

This rally followed a major decline in new home sales in September. However, the statistic is often volatile and revised the following month by the Commerce Department.

Still, Reuters noted of last month's results, "October's bounce back should offer some assurance that the housing market remains on solid ground."

So far, housing market reports this month have been mixed. Homebuilder confidence dipped another one point in December after a three-point decline in November. However, the Commerce Department reported housing starts surged 10.5% in November to a 1.17 million annualized rate, up from a 1.06 million rate in October and 16.5% higher than November 2014.