A soft landing seems likely. But Americans will still have to deal with unaffordable housing

After yet another remarkable jobs report showing that America’s job market is still firing on all cylinders, the flashing runway the Federal Reserve needs to land the plane ever so gently is now in clear view. The US economy is on the cusp of going through something thought to be nearly impossible: Inflation slowing to the central bank’s 2% target, after a spate of 11 rate hikes, without triggering mass job losses.

A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business’ Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up right here. You can listen to an audio version of the newsletter by clicking the same link. After yet another remarkable jobs report on Friday that showed America’s labor market is firing on all cylinders, the runway for the Federal Reserve to land the economy’s figurative plane — gently — is now in clear view. But no matter how smooth the landing, there’s trouble at the destination. The US economy is on the cusp of a “soft landing” — inflation slowing to the central bank’s 2% target in a sustainable manner without triggering major job losses. But it also leaves Americans to deal with economic hurdles that intensified after inflation erupted in 2021. One of them is a housing market near its most unaffordable point in decades. In a letter days before the Fed’s decision Wednesday to hold interest rates steady at a 23-year high, Democratic US senators blasted the central bank for America’s housing woes. And even though the Fed’s decisions influence mortgage rates, the central bank’s two mandates are to stabilize prices and maximize employment, not ensure housing affordability, which is also hamstrung by limited housing supply.