Interest rates

Credit card balances alone were up 15% in the third quarter. Higher prices for necessities and higher interest rates are contributing factors.

While the Fed has continued to hike interest rates, the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage has dropped from 7.16% to 6.4%.

Inflation has dipped slightly, according to a key measure known as the PCE. But economists have their favorite indicators.

September data shows they were still higher than a year earlier, though.

The U.S. isn't the only country with a central bank that's hiking rates. Here's how that's affecting housing markets around the world.

Laurie Stewart, CEO of Sound Community Bank in Seattle, says she's seen a "real uptick in demand for deposits."

"The average days on market has gone from less than a week up to about 89 days," says broker Amanda Pohlman of Keller Williams Living.

There's still a long way to go in easing prices, but some economists think inflation has peaked.

Employers keep looking for workers to meet consumer demand, though there are signs the labor market may cool down.

The Federal Reserve pumped up its benchmark interest rate Wednesday by three-quarters of a point for a fourth straight time but hinted that it could soon reduce the size of its rate hikes.