Every chart in our daily housing videos carries a small line of text next to the figures. It tells you where each figure came from and how current it is, and it takes a few seconds to read once you know the pattern. This page walks through it, part by part, and covers a few other labels you will see.
The source line
The source line always follows the same pattern: the publisher, the product, the period, and the release date. Written with placeholders, it reads like this:
Source: [publisher], [product] · [period] · released [date]
- · Publisher: the agency that collected and published the figures, such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or the U.S. Census Bureau.
- · Product: the specific survey or program, because one agency runs many of them and each measures something different.
- · Period: the stretch of time the figures describe, such as a month, a quarter or a year.
- · Released: the day the publisher made those figures public.
Why the release date matters
The period and the release date are two different things. Figures for a month or a quarter are usually released weeks or months after that period ends, because the publisher has to collect and check them first. Printing both lets you see how old the underlying data is and how recently it came out. If you find a newer release on the publisher's site than the one on a chart, the publisher's site is the one to trust.
Preliminary and revised figures
Some publishers release an early version of their figures and update them later, as more reports arrive. The early version is labeled preliminary. A preliminary figure is the publisher's early estimate, not a final count, and it can change in a later release.
Seasonally adjusted or not
Many monthly housing series come in two versions. The version that is not seasonally adjusted is the actual count for the month. The seasonally adjusted version removes the usual swings of the calendar, such as the difference between winter and spring building, and is often shown at an annual pace. The two answer different questions, so check which one a chart uses before comparing it with a number you saw somewhere else.
A state line and a national line
When a chart pairs a state with the United States, both figures come from the same publisher file and the same period, so the two lines are measured the same way. A national figure from a different release can differ even when it describes the same month.
What our charts do not show
Our charts show dollar amounts and counts as the publisher reported them. They do not forecast anything, they do not rank places, and they are not advice about when to buy, sell or borrow. Our data articles list their sources with links, so every figure can be checked against the original.
Where to go next
The Sources list below shows four releases our charts draw on, each written in the same pattern. How to read our five-state panel explains the fixed order of our state panels. For current homes, our property search is open any time.