Almost every district of the Fed noted that their housing markets were "sluggish" in the time since the end of the tax credit for homebuyers. The credit, which effectively ended in April, gave first-time purchasers up to $8,000, while other may have qualified for as much as $6,500.
"While some Districts, such as Boston and St. Louis, reported an increase in May and June home sales on a year-over-year basis, some contacts noted that these sales may reflect closings of homes under contract by the April tax credit deadline," the central bank's report said.
Meanwhile, rain in the Minneapolis and Dallas areas helped farm conditions in those districts and helped cut down on the need for irrigation in the region covered by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. However, those same rains may have made matters difficult in Chicago, which saw some crops damaged.
However, that district also noted that farmers expected good results from soybean and corn operations, the Fed report said.
