By Hiranmayi Srinivasan, Associate Editor

What's Happening Today

The housing market continues to cool off, as home sales fell 5.9% in July, according to the latest data released this morning from the National Association of Realtors. Home sales were down over 20% from last year, and have been on the decline for six straight months now, as higher mortgage rates and soaring home prices are forcing buyers to put purchasing a home on hold.

Buying a home continues to be unaffordable for many Americans, with the median sales price of a home climbing 10.8% from one year ago to $403,800, though that figure was down $10,000 from June's record high of $413,800. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage also jumped back over 5% last week, according to data from Freddie Mac. A recent survey by The Balance found that of those who were considering buying a home in the next year, 78% have decided to delay because of high prices. Some potential buyers have even backed out of buying a home due to increased costs.

As the Federal Reserve raises interest rates to combat inflation, mortgage rates will likely continue to rise along with them, as borrowing costs climb for a wide range of loans. Yesterday, the Federal Reserve released minutes from its July meeting, which showed that more interest rate hikes will likely happen in the future.

But rate increases won't continue forever—policymakers stated that they might slow down the pace of rate hikes, depending on how they affect inflation and the economy. Already, trader expectations on how high the Fed will raise rates at its next meeting in September are shifting in favor of a lower hike of 50 basis points compared to the recent hikes of 75 basis points, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, which is based on fed funds futures data.

- Hira

Editors' Picks

Fed Signals Caution on Pace of Rate Increases (Wall Street Journal)

How Does the Fed Funds Rate Work, and What Is Its Impact? (The Balance)

Credit Card Debt Hasn't Increased This Much in 20 Years (The Balance)

10 Ways To Avoid Credit Card Debt (The Balance)

Millions in the Dark About Whether Student Loan Payments Will Resume (CNBC)

Steps To Creating a Good Estate Plan (The Balance)

How Business Renters Insurance Works (The Balance)

Term of the Day

Financial Power of Attorney

Financial power of attorney is a legal document that allows a designated person to handle another person's financial affairs. An agent with a financial power of attorney can access financial accounts, pay bills, initiate new credit accounts, file taxes, and more.

If you are assigning financial power of attorney to someone, you can decide how much authority they will have over your affairs. It's important to only issue financial power of attorney when necessary and to limit the powers to those that are required. You should also choose someone you trust, and ensure others are aware of the situation and are verifying proper management.

Off the Charts

With how high inflation has been, it's no surprise people are paying more for just about everything these days. But how are we paying for these purchases? With plastic. Credit card debt in the second quarter grew 13% since the same time last year, the biggest annual jump in over 20 years, according to a recent report by the New York Fed.