It is the final quarter of the year. And quite a year it has already been. Mortgage rates moved back near all-time highs in the spring only to start falling in the summer. The National Association of Realtors signed a consent agreement which will change the way that real estate agents will go about their business. The war in Ukraine continued to rage while the Middle East again became a hot bed of tragic events. The real estate market continued to slow even as the listing shortage and housing price gains eased, but the price of homes continued to move upward.

On the political front, the last quarter of the year will be a whirlwind with only one month to go before we elect a new President. Adding to the uniqueness of 2024, we have already had an assassination attempt (actually two) and the incumbent bowing out weeks before the convention. The balance of power in the House and Senate are also up for grabs in what has become a very divided electorate. Who knows what surprises the next month will bring.

Meanwhile, there is a slew of economic data to add into the 2024 equation before we call an end to a very exciting year. This week we will start with the September jobs report—a particularly interesting data point at this juncture. The job market has led the economic recovery from the pandemic for the past four years. It was expected that the pace of job growth would slow down at some point. That point seems to have taken hold in the latter part of this year. This progression has helped facilitate progress on the inflation front. But we can’t afford for the job market to slow too much if the economy is going to successfully experience a soft landing.