According to BloombergView’s real estate columnist Jonathan J. Miller, these two data points offer only a one-dimensional view of the market. For a better grasp of the market, the monthly absorption rate metric, which measures the number of months needed to sell all inventory at the current sales pace, is more reliable. Based on these metrics, there is a wider gap forming between new and existing homes, with a shift toward builders developing larger homes aimed at the more affluent buyer.