The Real Estate News Brief: Another Bump “Up” for Inflation, Builder Challenges Continue, and a New Trend in Home Design

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending March 2nd, 2024... you’ll hear what the Fed’s favorite inflation gauge is telling us, the challenges facing builders today, and a popular new trend in home design....   We begin with economic news from this past week. The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation report came out last week showing the biggest increase in four months. The Personal Consumption Expenditure index or PCE was up .3% in January to an annual rate of 2.4%. The “core” rate, which excludes prices for energy and food, was up .4% with an annual rate of 2.8%. The results were not a surprise after similar reports for the Consumer Price Index and the Producer Price Index. But, there are worries that the new reports will convince the Fed to wait longer to cut rates. The Fed has also said it expects a “bumpy” ride back to its 2% target...   ...If you’d like to know more about buying real estate rental properties, please sign up for a free membership at our website. We provide education and networking opportunities for new and experienced real estate investors. You can also check out our companion website, growdevelopments.com, to find out about syndicated investment opportunities. And keep listening to this podcast as a subscriber for all the latest real estate news!   Thanks for listening! Kathy Fettke   Links:   1 - https://www.marketwatch.com/livecoverage/pce-inflation-for-january-s-p-500-futures-slip-ahead-of-key-report/card/pce-shows-biggest-rise-in-u-s-inflation-in-four-months-7iq9v0hdKgUenOhzZ4pG   2 - https://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2024/02/pce-measure-of-shelter-slows-to-61-yoy.html   3 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/home-prices-hit-a-new-all-time-high-in-december-case-shiller-says-e3f10c11?mod=mw_latestnews   4 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-economys-growth-in-the-fourth-quarter-downgraded-to-3-2-b56f52d7?mod=home-page   5 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-economys-growth-in-the-fourth-quarter-downgraded-to-3-2-b56f52d7?mod=home-page   6 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-tick-up-in-latest-week-2a830f76?mod=economic-report   7 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-homes-sales-tick-up-in-january-fa91ae07?mod=aarthi-swaminathan   8 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/pending-home-sales-post-biggest-drop-in-five-months-as-mortgage-rates-rise-a5078f5b?mod=economic-report   9 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/construction-spending-falls-for-the-first-time-since-december-2022-07997db4?mod=search_headline   10 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/home-prices-hit-a-new-all-time-high-in-december-case-shiller-says-e3f10c11?mod=mw_latestnews   11 - https://www.constructiondive.com/news/construction-materials-supply-chain-shortage/708866/   12 - https://eyeonhousing.org/2024/03/seven-percent-of-builders-now-build-barndominiums/   13 - https://www.houseplans.net/news/7-popular-barndominium-plans-of-2023/