Housing Starts: Economic Indicator & What It Means

Housing starts is an indicator often looked at in order to gauge the strength of the economy as a whole. The term "housing starts" refers to the number of houses that have started to be built within a certain period. Typically, economists utilize this statistic because it tells them what the general public thinks about the economy. If housing starts are high for the month, this means that people generally have a little bit more confidence about the economy. If people are pessimistic, there is not as much of a chance that they will engage in building new houses.