(RECAP: The quickening pace of home sales over the past year included a small rebound from two key segments of buyers who have been missing in action in recent years: first-time buyers and single women. This is according to the National Association of Realtors®’ annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, which also found that for-sale-by-owner transactions remained at an all-time low of 8 percent for the second straight year. Nearly 90 percent of all respondents worked with a real estate agent to buy or sell a home. The 2016 edition of Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers continues the longest-running series of national housing data evaluating the demographics, preferences, motivations, plans and experiences of recent home buyers and sellers; the survey dates back to 1981.)

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(RECAP: There isn’t enough affordable housing for the oldest residents of the Williamsburg area, and the small housing that does exist costs too much for many of them. Diane Hartley runs the Williamsburg office of the Peninsula Agency on Aging. She believes many of the area’s facilities geared toward older residents are too costly for many people, especially those who are retired and are on a limited, fixed income. Many facilities in Williamsburg and James City County aren’t financially feasible for a large part of the older residents in the area. Some are priced substantially higher than the market rate. Peter Walentisch, the executive director of Williamsburg’s Public Housing Authority, said more than 600 people are on the city’s waiting list for public housing, and the list is closed until next January.)

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(RECAP: The Federal Reserve is not expected to leave anyone guessing. The central bank will use its two-day meeting Tuesday and Wednesday to place the market on notice that it intends to raise interest rates — in December. Economists expect the Fed to borrow a page from last year’s playbook to tee up a rate hike. Last October, the Fed policy statement said: “In determining whether it will be appropriate to raise the target range at its next meeting, the Committee will assess progress—both realized and expected—toward its objectives of maximum employment and 2 percent inflation.” Fed watchers saw the sentence as a clear hint of a go. And, in fact, the central bank followed through six weeks later with the first interest-rate hike in nearly a decade. “I reckon that [sentence] pops up again,” said Tom Simons, a senior economist at Jefferies.)

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