Support the fact-based journalism you rely on with a donation to Marketplace today. Give Now!

Is cost of housing the culprit for pessimism about economy?

Dec 12, 2023
Inflation dipped slightly, but housing remains the biggest driver of rising prices.
Rents have gone up almost 30% just in the last couple of years. And high mortgage rates mean buying is out of reach for many current renters.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Homebuyers face a double whammy: rising mortgage rates and rising prices

Oct 5, 2023
The average monthly payment on a new mortgage rose 46% in 2022, and home prices and mortgage rates have continued to climb in 2023.
With home prices and interest rates so high, people are increasingly having trouble qualifying for a mortgage.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

What a “de facto ban” on Airbnb means for New York City 

Sep 21, 2023
Will housing prices go down with fewer short-term renters around?
Airbnb has a long history in New York City. But New York's stance towards short-term rentals has just gone from one of the most relaxed policies out there, to one of the strictest.
Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images

Has the housing market landed ... softly?

Jun 27, 2023
New Case-Shiller data suggests prices are rebounding after a moderate dip, though regional differences are pronounced.
While pricier areas on the West Coast have slowed down considerably, the housing market is still running hot for cities in the Southeast.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Spike in new households adds to rent, home price increases

May 29, 2023
As of 2020, people living alone made up 27% of new households. That trend has been accelerating.
An apartment building in Manhattan, New York City, seeks renters. More Americans are forming their own households than in previous decades.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Rent inflation has been slowing down for months

Mar 29, 2023
A recent survey found people expect rents will rise faster than home prices. But recent data have shown the opposite trend.
A recent survey found most people expect rent to rise faster than home prices, but recent data show a slowdown in rent inflation.
Al Bello/Getty Images

Housing costs are a main reason inflation is still high

Mar 14, 2023
The cost of shelter is driving more than 70% of inflation right now, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. So what gives?
It can take a year or more for changes in housing costs to show up in inflation data.
Allison Dinner/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

As mortgage rates rise, so have all-cash offers for homes

Feb 15, 2023
Some people are selling expensive homes and using the cash proceeds to buy more affordable ones. How does that hurt first-time buyers?
Paying cash for homes is a growing trend.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Federal Reserve finds working from home has been a big driver of inflation

Sep 27, 2022
San Francisco Fed researchers say the work-from-home shift may account for more than half of overall home price and rent increases in the U.S.
Demand for newer, bigger housing options that provide space for working from home has grown during the pandemic.
Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images

Housing crisis pushes more people to camp on public lands

Jun 7, 2022
Officials who help oversee public lands say they are seeing a lot more families living in these spaces.
A vehicle parked on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management outside Boise, Idaho. BLM officers say this is a typical setup of those living on public lands.
Madelyn Beck/Mountain West News.