CPI Inflation

While CPI inflation is at 3.4%, inflation is much higher in many basic necessities:

1. Car and homeowners Insurance Inflation: 22.6%
2. Transportation Inflation: 11.2%
3. Hospital Services Inflation: 7.7%
4. Car Repair Inflation: 7.6%
5. Homeowner Inflation: 5.8%
6. Rent Inflation: 5.4%
7. Electricity Inflation: 5.1%
8. Food Away From Home Inflation: 4.1%

Keep in mind, inflation has been above 3% for over THREE years now.

This means that these inflation numbers are building on multiple years of already inflated prices.

Affordability is still getting worse.

April: After Some Zigs, a Zag. But 6-Month Core CPI Hits 4.0%, 6-Month Core Services CPI Hits 6.0%, Both Highest since mid-2023.

The housing components of services CPI: Rent of Primary Residence CPI rose by 4.3% annualized in April from March (blue).

The three-month reading rose by 5.0%, the fourth month in a row of 5% increases, after having cooled sharply from the 2022 to early-2023 pace in the 9% range. The three-month pace in April (5.0%) was slightly hotter than in December (4.9%).

The Rent CPI accounts for 7.6% of overall CPI. It is based on rents that tenants actually paid, not on asking rents of advertised units for rent. The survey follows the same large group of rental houses and apartments over time and tracks the rents that the current tenants actually paid in these units.