what does " The Canary in the Housing Coalmine" mean?
" The Canary in the Housing Coalmine "
what does it mean?
and why does it mean that?

original text:
It was a tough week for the housing market.
December housing starts plunged more than 11% to a level not seen since September 2016, according to a government report released this week.
The S&P Case-Shiller home price index rose less than expected, while Home Depot (NYSE:HD) missed on profit expectations and forecast slowing sales.
But investors may have missed an even more ominous sign. The Economic Cycle Research Institute said this week its leading measure of home prices -- which it says “nailed” the 2006 housing bust in real time -- indicates now “there is a real risk prices will actually fall.”

Question

what does " The Canary in the Housing Coalmine" mean?
" The Canary in the Housing Coalmine "
what does it mean?
and why does it mean that?

original text:
It was a tough week for the housing market.
December housing starts plunged more than 11% to a level not seen since September 2016, according to a government report released this week.
The S&P Case-Shiller home price index rose less than expected, while Home Depot (NYSE:HD) missed on profit expectations and forecast slowing sales.
But investors may have missed an even more ominous sign. The Economic Cycle Research Institute said this week its leading measure of home prices -- which it says “nailed” the 2006 housing bust in real time -- indicates now “there is a real risk prices will actually fall.”

Answer

The usual expression is "canary in a coal mine." You can read an explanation in Wikipedia: 
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/canary_in_a_coal_mine#English
It means an indicator of coming danger.

By inserting the work "housing" into the expression, the writer of the article applied the expression to  the housing market. The "leading measure of home prices" is now the canary. The upward or downward movement of this index is supposed to indicate the future of the housing market.

Answers · 2

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