Reports from the U.S. Department of Commerce showed a year-over-year decline in the rate of core inflation over the month of June, down to 2.5% from 2.6% the previous year.

This marks the third consecutive month of year-over-year declining rates of inflation, the first signs that the inflation crisis, which has been at the heart of the corresponding rise in interest rates, is beginning to abate.

Moreover, it makes it more likely that the Federal Reserve will begin its long-delayed planned cuts to interest rates sooner, rather than later. Earlier this month, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested that the Fed could begin lowering interest rates before inflation rates hit their target level of 2 percent.

“If you wait until inflation gets all the way down to 2%, you’ve probably waited too long,” Powell said, addressing the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. on July 16.

While the Federal Reserve is cautious by nature, experts believe that this further confirmation of declining inflation will make it more likely for interest rates to begin lowering in September.

“I expect Powell will be quite comfortably pointing to September for an easing,” said David Page, head of macro research at the London-based investment management firm AXA IM.

Also of interest is the news, from CoreLogic’s Homeowner Equity Insights Report, that equity for the first quarter of 2024 saw a year-over-year increase of 9.6%. That translates to an average of $28,000 more for homeowners with a mortgage across the nation, the highest number since 2022.

On the local scale, the Huntsville/Madison County market has held rather steady during the month of July. The weekly report released by the Huntsville Area Association of Realtors (HAAR), which covers the week ending July 13, shows that new listings of single-family units saw a modest increase of 1.1%, while new listings of townhouse units had a 50% decrease.

Pending sales of single-family units dipped 15.7%, while pending sales of townhouse units remained flat, with 14 sales that week.

Inventory continued to increase, with single-family units seeing a 38.7% increase, and townhouse units seeing an increase of 151.6%.

As always, the Huntsville Business Journal will continue to monitor the real estate market, both nationally and on the local scale.