News

Washington DC

In June US house prices rose at their fastest annual rate since records began in 1987. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price index, which measures average house prices in major metropolitan areas, was 18.6% higher over the year, up from 16.8% in May. Ultra-low interest rates and a shortage of houses on the market are behind skyrocketing prices, says Nicole Friedman in The Wall Street Journal. Household incomes also rose quickly in July, gaining 1.1% month-on-month in the biggest jump since March, thanks to enhanced tax breaks to parents that have primed the economy for stronger growth once new cases of Covid-19 recede, says Josh Mitchell in the same paper. But household spending slowed to a monthly 0.3% in July, compared with June’s 1.1% increase, hampered by the spread of the Delta variant and resulting restrictions. And global supply-chain disruption has caused the US government