A five percent increase in shelter costs isn’t a win—it’s a sign things are still getting worse, just at a slower pace. Housing prices continue to outpace wages and inflation, creating a larger problem for society. The rise may have slowed, but it’s still damaging, and the strain on people’s finances isn’t disappearing anytime soon. The issue is not just persistent; it’s getting worse in slow motion.
Rent inflation has been slowly cooling down for 18 monthsPrices consumers pay for goods and services were up more than 2.5% compared to the same time a year ago, and up 0.2% from the month before, according to the most recent consumer price index from the Labor Department.Over half of that monthly increase was thanks to the cost of shelter. In fact, shelter costs are up almost 5% over the last 12 months. And while that may sound like a big increase, it’s worth pointing out that rent inflation has actually been slowing down for more than a year and a half now.The thing about the CPI report, and the way it tallies up shelter costs, is that it tends to reflect leases that were signed a while ago.
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