
Volatile Hotel Prices—Not Rents—Pushed January Inflation Numbers Higher
January’s inflation report came in hotter than expected, with the shelter category increasing 0.4%—up from 0.3% in recent months. While the overall shelter inflation component
Chen Zhao is the head of economics research, where she produces research on the housing market for public and internal audiences.
Previously, she was an executive director leading housing finance and financial markets research at the JPMorgan Chase Institute. Prior to joining JPMCI, Chen was an economics consultant at Analysis Group, Inc., where she worked on financial litigation cases and led teams conducting health economics and outcomes research on behalf of pharmaceutical companies.
While in graduate school, Chen was with the Center for Economic Studies and the Social Economic and Housing Statistics Division at the US Census Bureau, where she conducted applied microeconomics research using large scale restricted-access linked survey-administrative data. She started her career at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, where she focused on labor and health economics.

January’s inflation report came in hotter than expected, with the shelter category increasing 0.4%—up from 0.3% in recent months. While the overall shelter inflation component

January’s inflation report came in hotter than expected, though some of the “surprise” is due to start-of-the-year effects that have become more pronounced in recent

Takeaway: The January jobs report was a mixed bag, but generally pointed to a stronger-than-expected labor market. Mortgage rates may see a little bounce off

President Trump plans to impose tariffs of 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico, and 10% on imports from China, starting Saturday. While the situation

The Fed held rates steady on Wednesday, as expected, and appears to be in no hurry to resume cuts. Mortgage rates are expected to remain

President Trump’s day-one executive order on housing signals that tackling the housing affordability crisis in the U.S. will be a priority. His remarks on tariffs

January’s inflation report came in hotter than expected, with the shelter category increasing 0.4%—up from 0.3% in recent months. While the overall shelter inflation component

January’s inflation report came in hotter than expected, though some of the “surprise” is due to start-of-the-year effects that have become more pronounced in recent

Takeaway: The January jobs report was a mixed bag, but generally pointed to a stronger-than-expected labor market. Mortgage rates may see a little bounce off

President Trump plans to impose tariffs of 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico, and 10% on imports from China, starting Saturday. While the situation

The Fed held rates steady on Wednesday, as expected, and appears to be in no hurry to resume cuts. Mortgage rates are expected to remain

President Trump’s day-one executive order on housing signals that tackling the housing affordability crisis in the U.S. will be a priority. His remarks on tariffs