Bebeto Matthews—AP The reprieve is over. Just as the American economy is struggling with high inflation and interest rates, the coming resumption of student loan payments poses yet another potential challenge. The suspension of federal student loan payments, which took effect at the height of the pandemic in 2020, expires late this summer. Interest will start accruing again in September. Payments will resume in October. Though many hoped their loans might at least be lightened, the Supreme...

WASHINGTON — U.S. builders broke ground on fewer apartment buildings last month, pushing overall home construction down 3.7 percent from March. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that housing starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.29 million in April, lowest since December. Apartment construction tumbled 12.6 percent to 374,000. Construction of single-family homes blipped up 0.1 percent to 894,000. Still, housing starts are up 10.5 percent from April 2017 on a 7.2 percent...

With fewer homes for sale today, would-be buyers are having to get creative about making their bid stand out. USA TODAY WASHINGTON — Sales of new U.S. homes fell in January for the second straight month, failing to rebound from a weather-related drop in December. The Commerce Department reported Monday that last month's sales came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 593,000, the lowest level since August and down 7.8 percent from a revised 643,000 in December. Economists had expected...

A USA TODAY motion graphic explaining the many acronyms that a home-buyer may encounter during the home buying and shopping process. Ramon Padilla, Frank Pompa, Berna Elibuyuk, Charisse Jones, Michael Struening and Philana Patterson WASHINGTON — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates climbed for the fifth straight amid investors' growing concern about inflation. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac says the average rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages shot up to 4.32 percent this week, up from 4.22 percent...

WASHINGTON — U.S. home prices rose a sharply in November, lifted by a shortage of homes on the market. Standard & Poor's says its S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index increased 6.2% in November from a year earlier after climbing 6.1% in October. Seattle saw 12.7% price increase, Las Vegas 10.6% and San Francisco 9.1%. Washington D.C. prices rose just 3.3%, lowest among the 20 metropolitan areas measured. The national housing index has registered annual gains of 5% or more for...