A barometer is a selective compilation of economic and market data designed to represent larger trends. Common barometers include consumer spending, housing starts, interest rates, and prominent stock market indices like the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Standard & Poor's 500 Stock Index.
A building permit is permission granted by a local government to build a specific structure at a particular site. The number of residential building permits often forecasts the number of housing starts.
An important economic indicator that offers an estimate of the number of dwelling units on which construction has begun during a stated period. The number of housing starts is closely related to interest rates and other basic economic factors.
