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    Severe weather, FAA shortfalls kick off rocky start to summer air travel

    Thunderstorms prompted thousands of flight delays and cancellations since the weekend.
    The disruptions come ahead of the busy Fourth of July travel period, when millions are expected to fly.
    United Airlines’ CEO blamed FAA staffing shortfalls for worsening disruptions that stemmed from bad weather.

    Passengers wait at the Newark Liberty International Airport as more than 2000 flights were canceled due to the nationwide storm in New Jersey, United States on June 27, 2023. 
    Fatih Aktas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

    Flight disruptions mounted Tuesday as severe storms and staffing issues kicked off a rocky start to summer.
    More than 6,400 flights U.S. flights were delayed as of Tuesday evening and another 1,800 were canceled, FlightAware data showed, as thunderstorms that derailed thousands of trips over the weekend lingered in airspace that is heavily congested on a clear-weather day. That’s on top of more than 8,800 U.S. delays and 2,246 cancellations Monday.

    The Federal Aviation Administration paused flights bound for New York’s LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Delays were averaging three hours or longer at those airports. The FAA said that the thunderstorms were blocking arrival and departure routes.
    The disruptions come ahead of the busy Fourth of July holiday travel period, when millions are expected to fly. The Transportation Security Administration said it could screen more travelers than in 2019, before the pandemic, raising competition for spare seats.
    The Biden administration has pressured airlines to improve their operations after widespread flight disruptions last spring and summer, which prompted carriers to trim their overambitious schedules. But the industry struggled to recover this past weekend from a series of thunderstorms that didn’t let up for days.
    Thunderstorms are difficult for airlines because they can form with less warning than other major weather obstacles like winter storms or hurricanes. Rolling delays could force crews to reach federally mandated workday limits and further worsen disruptions.
    About 30,000 flights have arrived late since Saturday, FlightAware data showed, with cancellation rates from Saturday through Monday up more than three times the average for the year.

    Some airline executives have also blamed some of the disruptions on shortages of air traffic controllers.
    United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told staff on Monday that “the FAA frankly failed us this weekend.” He said that during Saturday’s storms the FAA reduced arrival rates by 40% and departures by 75% at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, one of the airline’s biggest hubs.
    “It led to massive delays, cancellations, diversions, as well as crews and aircraft out of position,” Kirby wrote in a staff note, which was seen by CNBC. “And that put everyone behind the eight ball when weather actually did hit on Sunday and was further compounded by FAA staffing shortages Sunday evening.”
    An FAA spokesman said in a statement, “We will always collaborate with anyone seriously willing to join us to solve a problem.”
    The staffing challenges aren’t new. The Covid-19 pandemic derailed hiring and training of new air traffic controllers, and the agency is now trying to catch up.
    The Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General said in a report last week that air traffic control staffing shortfalls put air traffic operations at risk. In March, the FAA and some airlines agreed to reduce flights to help ease congestion at busy New York airports because of the staffing issues.
    But the problems persist at a time when airlines are readying crews and schedules for a busy summer season, fueled by sustained travel demand.
    And the disruptions frustrated flight crews who were left waiting on hold for reassignments.
    The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents flight attendants at United and others said in a memo to members Monday that hold times for crew scheduling were longer than three hours.
    “There is an absolute recognition by Union leadership and Inflight management that something must be done in order to permanently address these adverse situations resulting from irregular operations,” the union said.
    In response to the union’s memo, United said it has “deployed all available resources to catch up on call volume, including increasing staffing in crew scheduling and mandatory overtime on the scheduling team.”
    New York-based JetBlue Airways also faced high levels of flight delays over the past few days and acknowledged it can improve how it handles disruptions in a note to crew members Monday, which was reviewed by CNBC.
    Don Uselmann, vice president of inflight experience at JetBlue, said the airline could have updated crew reporting times more efficiently so staff wouldn’t be waiting for flights and reducing wait times for hotel assignments.
    “Summer peak is officially underway, and extreme weather events, ATC staffing constraints, and the resulting delays will put all airlines to the test,” he said in his note. “This weekend’s [irregular operation] won’t be our last, but the combination of events put acute pressure on the operation and made it more challenging than most.” More

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    Regeneron shares fall after FDA rejects high-dose eye disease treatment

    Shares of Regeneron fell nearly 9% after the FDA declined to approve a higher-dose version of the company’s blockbuster eye disease treatment.
    The company was seeking approval for an 8-milligram dose of the injection for patients with wet age-related macular degeneration and two other eye diseases that are common in people with diabetes. 

    A view of the Regeneron Pharmaceuticals headquarters in Tarrytown, New York.
    Lev Radin | LightRocket | Getty Images

    Shares of Regeneron fell nearly 9% Tuesday after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve a higher-dose version of the company’s blockbuster eye disease treatment.
    The company was seeking approval for an 8-milligram dose of its injection, Eylea, for patients with wet age-related macular degeneration — the leading cause of blindness among the elderly — and two other eye diseases that are common in people with diabetes. 

    Regeneron said the rejection was “solely due to an ongoing review of inspection findings at a third-party filler.”
    The company did not provide further details on those findings or identify the third party, but said the decision was not related to the drug’s efficacy, safety, trial design, labeling or drug substance manufacturing. 
    That suggests the drug could potentially win approval down the road. 
    But a delay won’t help the company fight off threats to its Eylea drug franchise, which is facing competition from Roche Holdings’ eye drug, Vabysmo. Roche’s treatment was approved last year.

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    Regeneron stock fell nearly 9% Tuesday after an FDA rejection of a higher-dose version of the company’s blockbuster eye treatment. More

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    More than $200 billion in Covid loans potentially stolen by fraudsters, watchdog says

    More than $200 billion in Covid aid disbursed by the Small Business Administration may have been stolen by fraudsters, according a federal watchdog.
    This would represent 17% of the $1.2 trillion disbursed by SBA through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and the Paycheck Protection Program.
    The inspector general said an overwhelming number of fraudsters were able to take advantage of the program due to weak internal controls as the loans were rushed out.

    (L-R) Kevin Chambers, Director for COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement, Department of Justice; Hannibal “Mike” Ware, Inspector General, Small Business Administration; Michael Horowitz, Chair, Pandemic Response Accountability Committee; and Roy D. Dotson Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge, National Pandemic Fraud Recovery Coordinator, United States Secret Service; testify during a hybrid hearing held by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis in the Rayburn House Office Building on June 14, 2022 in Washington, DC.
    Joe Raedle | Getty Images

    Fraudsters potentially stole more than $200 billion in federal loans intended to help small businesses struggling during the Covid pandemic, a government watchdog said on Tuesday.
    The Office of the Inspector General estimated in a new report that at least 17% of the $1.2 trillion disbursed by the Small Business Administration may have been ripped off by fraudulent actors.

    More than $136 billion from Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and $64 billion from the Paycheck Protection Program loans was potentially stolen, the inspector general found. In total, SBA disbursed $400 billion in EIDL funds and $800 billion in Paycheck Protection Program loans during the life of the programs.
    The inspector general said an overwhelming number of fraudsters attracted to easy money were able to take advantage of the programs because the SBA eased its internal controls in the rush to distribute assistance to struggling small businesses during the pandemic shutdowns.
    The SBA, in a letter included in the report, disputed the inspector general’s conclusions. Bailey DeVries, a senior official at SBA, said the report significantly overestimates the amount fraud in the programs.
    DeVries said the Trump administration rushed out loans during the first few months of the program but additional fraud controls were introduced in 2021.
    She also said the 34% potential fraud rate the inspector general found in the EIDL program is inconsistent with SBA’s current repayment data.

    SBA figures show that 12% of the loans went to borrowers who are past due, most of whom are likely real businesses that are closed or simply unable to repay, DeVries said. Some 74% of businesses have either fully repaid or begun to repay their loans while 14% are still in the deferment period, she said.
    The inspector general office’s investigations have led to more than 1,000 indictments, 803 arrests and 529 convictions related to fraud in the loan programs, according to the report. These investigations have led to nearly $30 billion in stolen loans being seized or returned by federal law enforcement agencies.
    The inspector general’s office is still working on tens of thousands of investigative leads on waste, fraud and abuse in the loan programs, according to the report. Thousands of these investigations are expected to continue for years, the inspector general said.
    The Paycheck Protection Program provided guaranteed loans to small businesses, individuals and nonprofits that could be forgiven if the borrower fulfilled certain conditions. The Economic Injury Disaster Loan program provided low-interest, fixed-rate loans to help small businesses nd other organizations to help cover their operating expenses.
    About 1.6 million EIDL loans worth $114 billion are either past due, delinquent or in liquidation as of May, according to the report. More than 69,000 of these loans worth $3.2 billion have been written off. And more than 500,000 PPP loans have defaulted
    The inspector general report said nonpayment is often an indictor of loan fraud, though not all loans that are past due, delinquent, or charged off will be fraudulent.

    CNBC Health & Science

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    Here’s how a merger between PGA Tour and LIV Golf would be structured

    Details are emerging of how the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf plan to merge their commercial operations and bring the sport’s top players back under one new entity.
    The tour will hold a permanent controlling interest in the new entity’s board of directors and would maintain that majority share regardless of PIF’s investments, according to a tentative agreement.
    News of the deal structure comes ahead of a Senate hearing on July 11, in which top brass of all the parties have been asked to testify.

    Rafael Henrique | Lightrocket | Getty Images

    Details are emerging of how the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf plan to merge their commercial operations and bring the sport’s top players back under one new entity.
    In a five-page agreement obtained by CNBC, the parties — the PGA Tour, the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund and Europe’s DP World Tour — agreed to create a for-profit subsidiary of the PGA Tour. The new entity will manage commercial assets for all the tours, while the PGA Tour will manage competitions.

    The tour will hold a permanent controlling interest in the new entity’s board of directors and would maintain that majority share regardless of PIF’s investments, according to the document. PIF, which agreed it will be a noncontrolling minority investor, has said it would invest billions into the entity.
    Specifics regarding the valuation of the assets were still being negotiated as of the time of the agreement, which is dated May 30, and were not included in the documents.
    News of the deal structure comes ahead of a Senate hearing on July 11, in which top brass of all the parties have been asked to testify.
    Since its launch in 2022, LIV has been mired in controversy and criticism. The PIF is not, in fact, publicly held, as its name might suggest. It is a sovereign wealth fund controlled by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and has been accused of “sportswashing,” effectively using LIV Golf and other sports investments to improve the image of the oil-rich nation and distract from the kingdom’s history of human rights violations.
    The tentative merger agreement was signed by PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley and PIF’s Yasir al-Rumayyan.

    The agreement offers few other specifics about the proposed merger, which was announced earlier this month, and would put an end to all litigation between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
    The two organizations had filed a series of antitrust claims against each other. LIV alleged anti-competitive practices for the tour banning its players. The PGA tour countersued, claiming LIV was stifling competition.
    The lawsuits came after multiple high-profile players including Phil Mickelson left the PGA Tour for LIV.
    The tentative agreement also ends player recruitment during the negotiation process and establishes a set of requirements to guide toward the definitive deal, including a nondisparagement clause between all the entities.
    The PGA Tour board, including player directors, will have to sign off on an eventual definitive agreement, of which negotiations are still ongoing, according to a person familiar with the matter.
    “There is much work to do to get us from a framework agreement to a definitive agreement,” Monahan said in a memo to players when the deal was announced.
    The entities previously said they would establish “a fair and objective process for any players who want to re-apply for membership with the PGA Tour or DP World Tour” following the end of the 2023 season.
    Meanwhile, key lawmakers are holding a Senate subcommittee hearing to put the proposed deal under the microscope.
    Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Sen. Ron Johnson, the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee’s permanent subcommittee on investigations, respectively, said in a letter that the subcommittee would examine the proposed deal and the “risks associated with a foreign government’s investment in American cultural institutions, and the implications of this planned agreement on professional golf in the United States going forward.”
    The PGA Tour has said its executives would testify at the hearing, although it is unclear if Monahan will be present. Monahan, who was earlier named future commissioner of the new entity, recently went on a leave of absence as he recuperates from a medical condition. More

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    Costco cracks down on membership card sharing

    Costco is cracking down on shoppers who are using other people’s membership cards.
    To step up enforcement, it is checking for photo IDs even when shoppers check out themselves.
    The membership-based warehouse said it’s noticed an uptick in abuse since it expanded self-checkout.

    Exterior view of a Costco store on August 18, 2020 in Teterboro, New Jersey.
    Kena Betancur | Corbis News | Getty Images

    Costco is taking a page from Netflix’s book.
    The retailer is cracking down on people sneaking into its clubs and trying to shop with other people’s membership cards, it said Tuesday.

    Costco said it has always asked shoppers for their membership cards at the cash registers when they check out. Now, it is also requesting to see cards with a photo at self-checkout registers — and to view a photo ID if a shopper’s membership card has no picture.
    “We don’t feel it’s right that non members receive the same benefits and pricing as our members,” the company said in a statement.
    The membership-based warehouse club said it has noticed more abuse of card sharing since it expanded self-checkout to more of its stores.
    The stepped-up enforcement was previously reported by The Dallas Morning News.
    Costco stands apart from other retailers because of its business model. The bulk of its earnings come from membership fees, which help cover company expenses and keep prices low. It charges $60 for annual memberships and $120 a year for its higher-tier plan, called Executive Membership.

    Membership-based warehouse clubs have attracted more customers and won more of their wallets over the past three years. Shoppers who turned to the clubs to help with pantry loading of toilet paper and hand sanitizer during the Covid pandemic are now going there for cheaper gas and bulk-sized food during a period of inflation.
    Walmart-owned Sam’s Club has seen a similar lift in business. Its membership count has hit a record high.
    Yet even the clubs have felt pressured as consumers pull back because of inflation, or spend on experiences like travel and dining out instead. In the past two quarters, Costco has reported a heavier mix of sales coming from food as demand slows for pricier merchandise and popular pandemic categories like furniture and electronics.
    Its net sales rose year over year by about 2% to $52.6 billion, including the impact of inflation during the quarter that ended May 7.
    “It rains on all of us during these tougher times, particularly with bigger ticket, discretionary items,” Costco’s chief financial officer, Richard Galanti, said on an earnings call in December.
    Shares of Costco have risen nearly 16% so far this year, outpacing the approximately 14% gain of the S&P 500. The stock closed Monday at $523.42. More

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    Starbucks files labor complaint against union over Pride decor allegations

    Starbucks filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board over Starbucks Workers United’s allegations that some of its stores were not allowed to decorate for Pride month.
    The coffee giant alleged the union is engaging in a “smear campaign.”
    The union has filed its own complaint against Starbucks and called the filing a “public relations stunt.”

    Protesters in Seattle join a Starbucks Workers United strike over what the union alleges is a change in policy over Pride decor in stores. Starbucks maintains it has not changed its policies and encourages stores to celebrate within the company’s security and safety guidelines, while the union alleges workers in 22 states have not been able to decorate.
    Rob Weller | CNBC

    Starbucks fired back Monday at the union that represents baristas at hundreds of its stores, filing charges with the National Labor Relations Board over Starbucks Workers United’s allegations that dozens of its stores were not allowed to put up Pride month decor.
    The charges come after employees of some Starbucks locations started picketing Friday in response to the claims. More than 150 stores pledged to join the strikes around the country, representing nearly 3,500 workers, Workers United said. Starbucks has more than 9,000 company-owned cafes in the U.S.

    The union has alleged instances in at least 22 states where managers have told baristas they can’t decorate for Pride month in June, or where Pride flags were taken down. The company has said it has not changed its policies on decorations.
    In the NLRB complaint Monday tied to the union’s allegations, Starbucks said the “union and its agents have engaged in a smear campaign that includes deliberate misrepresentations to Starbucks partners.”
    “The union’s violations have ignited and inflamed workplace tension and division and provoked strikes and other business disruptions in Starbucks stores,” Starbucks said in the filing. “The union’s unlawful campaign includes, without limitation, making deliberate misrepresentations that include maliciously and recklessly false statements about Starbucks’ longstanding support of Pride month and decorations in its stores. The union has knowingly and falsely stated that Starbucks has banned all Pride decorations from its stores.”
    In a second filing with the NLRB responding to the union’s depiction of benefits for LGBTQ+ workers, the coffee giant said, “Starbucks continues to provide its partners with industry‐leading gender affirming care benefits. The union has knowingly and falsely stated that Starbucks eliminated or changed the benefits coverage for its LGBTQIA2+ partners.”
    The union said it filed a charge of its own in response to the allegations that stores were barred from decorating. It said some of the strikes were tied to those accusations along with its claims that Starbucks is stalling in labor negotiations.

    The first Starbucks location unionized in December 2021, and more than 300 stores so far have voted in favor of a union. But the sides have not agreed to a contract at any store. For its part, Starbucks maintains Workers United has responded to only a quarter of the more than 450 bargaining sessions Starbucks has proposed for individual stores nationally, and said it is committed to progressing negotiations toward a first contract.
    The union has said Starbucks is stalling contract negotiations. On Friday, it said, “despite having our non-economic proposals for over 8 months and our economic proposals for over a month now, Starbucks has failed to tentatively agree to a single line of a single proposal or provide a single counter proposal.”
    Starbucks Workers United’s latest NLRB filing alleges Starbucks “failed to bargain in good faith” by without notice “eliminating” or “prohibiting” Pride decorations at organized Oklahoma City stores and “refusing to bargain” with the union over the move and its effects. It also said the company refused to “furnish information relevant to bargaining over” the alleged moves to prevent employees from putting up decorations.
    Workers United said it was confident the charges Starbucks filed would be dismissed and called them a “public relations stunt meant to distract from Starbucks’ own actions.”
    “Every single charge that Starbucks has filed against our union has been dismissed by the NLRB for lacking merit. … Watch what Starbucks does, not what it says,” the union said in a statement.
    “While attacking the union that represents its own workers, Starbucks has now changed its policies in response to worker actions. If Starbucks truly wants to be an ally to the LGBTQIA+ community, they will actually listen to their queer workers by coming to the bargaining table to negotiate in good faith,” Starbucks Workers United added.
    Starbucks took additional steps Monday to communicate to employees that its policies on decor in stores had not changed. Managers are given safety and security guidelines and can make decisions within that framework.
    Starbucks says it has and continues to encourage stores to celebrate heritage months with partners, including Pride.
    “I want to reiterate that there has been no change to any of our policies as it relates to our inclusive store environments, our company culture, and the benefits we offer our partners. To further underscore this, we intend to issue clearer centralized guidelines, and leveraging resources like the Period Planning Kit (PPK) and Siren’s Eye, for in-store visual displays and decorations that will continue to represent inclusivity and our brand,” Sara Trilling, executive vice president of Starbucks North America, said in a message to partners sent Monday. “No one can take away our legacy and our continued commitment to being a place where we all belong.”
    “Throughout our journey, we have heard from our partners that you want to be creative in how our stores are represented and that you see visual creativity in stores as part of who we are and our culture,” Trilling said. “Equally, we have also heard through our partner channels that there is a need for clarity and consistency on current guidelines around visual displays and decorations.”
    In response to Trilling’s message, Alisha Humphrey, national worker leader from Oklahoma City, said in a statement to CNBC, “We are glad that Starbucks is folding in response to our nationwide strike, and we view this as a major victory in our fight to hold Starbucks accountable.”
    “However, at my store, there was a clear policy change when we were told that pride decorations were not allowed and I am tired of being gaslight by this company. Moreover, our strike is about more than pride decorations,” Humphrey added. “This strike is about the fact that me and my co-workers voted for a union and, despite Starbucks being legally required to bargain with us, they have refused to do so. This is about Starbucks threatening benefits, intimidating us, and making us feel unwelcome in our own workplace. Our union isn’t damaging Starbucks’ legacy — Starbucks is doing that all by themselves.” 
    The clash over Pride decorations in Starbucks stores comes as states across the country have passed a string of laws targeting LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly transgender Americans. Conservative consumers have boycotted inclusion of or marketing to transgender people by brands such as Bud Light and Target.
    The allegations by the Starbucks union suggested that backlash had reached Starbucks, which has long had a reputation as a liberal bastion in corporate America and touted its health benefits for LGBTQ+ workers.
    — CNBC’s Amelia Lucas contributed to this report. More

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    Volvo just became the latest EV maker to move to Tesla’s charging standard

    Volvo Cars said it has signed a deal with Tesla, under which Volvo EV drivers in North America will have access to 12,000 Tesla charging stations.
    The deal with Tesla appears identical to those announced by Ford, GM and Rivian in recent weeks.
    Volvo’s EVs will come standard with Tesla-style charging plugs, called the North American Charging Standard, starting in 2025.

    Volvo’s EX30, a small electric crossover SUV, is expected to arrive in the U.S. next year.
    Courtesy: Volvo

    Swedish automaker Volvo Cars said Tuesday that it has signed a deal with Tesla that will allow drivers of its electric vehicles to charge at about 12,000 Tesla charging stations in North America starting next year.
    Under the deal, Volvo’s EVs will be equipped with Tesla-designed plugs, called the North American Charging Standard, starting in 2025.

    Volvo’s deal with Tesla appears identical to deals struck in recent weeks by Ford Motor, General Motors and Rivian. While other rivals, including Hyundai and Chrysler parent Stellantis, have said they are considering similar moves, Volvo is the first European EV maker to formally commit to the NACS charging standard for its EVs sold in North America.
    “We want to make life with an electric car as easy as possible,” said Volvo CEO Jim Rowan in a statement. “One major inhibitor to more people making the shift to electric driving — a key step in making transportation more sustainable — is access to easy and convenient charging infrastructure.”
    Volvo said drivers of its EVs will be able to use Tesla’s Superchargers with an adapter starting in the first half of 2024. Volvo will add the locations of Tesla charging stations to its proprietary app at the same time.
    Most non-Tesla EVs and charging stations in the U.S. use a rival plug design, the public-domain Combined Charging System standard. While Teslas can use CCS chargers with an adapter, currently, only Tesla EVs can use Tesla chargers.
    Tesla’s NACS charging plug design was proprietary until late last year, when Tesla published the technical details of its system and said anyone could adopt the standard.

    The shortcomings of CCS have been a growing concern for the Detroit automakers, all of which are investing billions in a wave of new EVs due over the next few years. Several studies have found that CCS charging networks have much lower reliability than Tesla’s network. In addition, the CCS fast-charging plug is larger and heavier than Tesla’s NACS plug, making it cumbersome for older or disabled drivers to use.  
    Several charging-related companies, including charging networks EVgo and ChargePoint, and manufacturers of EV chargers including ABB and Blink Charging, have said they have begun adding NACS plugs to their chargers or plan to do so in coming months. More

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    Home prices rose for third straight month in April, S&P Case-Shiller index says

    Home prices in April were 0.5% higher month to month, after seasonal adjustments.
    Prices are now just 2.4% below their June 2022 peak.

    Ryan Ratliff (C), Real Estate Sales Associate with Re/Max Advance Realty, shows Ryan Paredes (L) and Ariadna Paredes a home for sale on April 20, 2023 in Cutler Bay, Florida. 
    Joe Raedle | Getty Images

    Home prices peaked last June, falling sharply through the beginning of this year. Now, they’re recovering steadily.
    Home prices in April were still down 0.2% compared with April 2022, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index. They were, however, 0.5% higher month to month, after seasonal adjustments. Prices are now just 2.4% below their June 2022 peak.

    Miami, Chicago, and Atlanta were still seeing big gains in April, with prices up 5.2%, 4.1% and 3.5% year over year, respectively. When compared with a year ago, the price declines were larger in April than in March in 17 of the top 20 index cities. Boston, San Francisco and Cleveland showed slight increases.
    A major jump in mortgage rates last summer caused a decline in prices. But, rates are still high, and homebuyers appear to be adjusting to the new normal. Demand is strengthening.
    “The ongoing recovery in home prices is broadly based,” Craig Lazzara, managing director at S&P DJI, said in a release.
    “If I were trying to make a case that the decline in home prices that began in June 2022 had definitively ended in January 2023, April’s data would bolster my argument,” he added. “Whether we see further support for that view in coming months will depend on the how well the market navigates the challenges posed by current mortgage rates and the continuing possibility of economic weakness.”
    Before seasonal adjustments, prices rose in all 20 cities in April, as they had also done in March. Seasonally adjusted data showed prices rising in 19 cities in April versus 14 in March.

    The average interest rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage is still hovering in the high 6% range, more than double what it was in the first two years of the Covid pandemic, when homebuying surged dramatically.
    Buyers, however, are still out in force. But they are coming up against extremely low inventory of homes for sale. Part of that is because the vast majority of homeowners have mortgage rates in the 3% range, which makes them much less likely to want to sell their home and buy another at a higher rate.
    “Home price trends are caught in a tug of war between stretched buyer budgets and limited inventory forcing competition despite reduced affordability,” Danielle Hale, chief economist for Realtor.com, said in a release. “With high mortgage rates keeping 1 in 7 homeowners from selling, new listings have lagged far behind what we’ve seen in prior years, pushing buyers to continue to bring their best offers even as home sales are 20% lower than at this time last year.” More