Good economic news? Must be faulty data.

This recent jump in new home sales has defied experts' expectations.

Those same experts cite a 47% jump in the sales of new homes in Western states from Sept to Oct as evidence that these numbers must be wrong.

I don't dispute that the numbers may be wrong.

What has me somewhat baffled is that I don't recall past articles on housing numbers speaking about how unreliable the statistics are.

Is it a matter of bias where they simply refuse to trust good news while Republicans are in charge of the government, or are they voicing skepticism to warn the markets not to read to much into these numbers lest poor choices are made based on faulty data.

But again, that raises the question that if these numbers have always been B.S., why do they get reported so breathlessly (especially if they portend dooooooooom)?

Also, is there an unreported Katrina angle to these numbers? A significant number of existing homes have disappeared from the market, and an unusual amount of folk have been displaced. Given that the stats show decreases in existing home sales and increases in new home sales, might these displaced people have had an impact?

I wonder if insurance companies, and land speculators are quietly buying up lots in the effected areas. Plenty of the displaced will be disposed to take offers so that they can build new lives in a different part of the country. The press is focusing on those that stayed and are trying to rebuild in the Mississippi Gulf Coast and in New Orleans since that's more dramatic. But, there might be a portion of the displaced that realize the job market isn't rebounding soon, wasn't very good to begin with and if the option to move is there then moving is the best option.

It's all idle speculation on my part based on no data whatsoever, guess I'll be getting a job as a reporter at the NYT, LA Times, or WaPo with those habits.