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The challenge of higher prices is starting to weigh on home sales. New and existing home sales both dipped last month while the median price of existing homes sold topped $350,000 for the first time. Vacation home sales jumped 57.2% over the last year.

The Federal Reserve raised its inflation forecast 1.0% for this year to 3.4% and indicated inflation will stay near its target of 2.0% in coming years. Based on a more rapid recovery and higher-than-expected inflation in recent months, Fed officials estimate the Fed will raise interest rate …

U.S. consumer prices continued to go up faster than normal. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) jumped 0.6% last month and has now increased 5.0% over last year (Figure 1). Used car and truck prices rose 7.3% last month and are 29.7% higher over the last year. New car prices increased 1.6%, and …

U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose 559,000 last month (Figure 1). This is much better than last month’s 278,000, but much lower than March’s 785,000 gain. Workers are returning to the labor force more slowly than expected. Businesses are reporting challenges in finding workers. Leisure and hospital …

U.S. home prices continued to march higher. As Figure 1 shows, they have surged 13.2%. The 20-city index has increased slightly more as cities just out of the top 10, such as Phoenix, San Diego, and Seattle have experienced very rapid price appreciation. The annualized gains are in line wit …