Southern California Inflation Hits 9-Year High. Blame Housing? #realestate #investment #homeownership

Source:  The Orange County Register

It was Southern California's worst year for inflation since 2008.
And housing is clearly to blame.

Think what you want about the accuracy of the government's Consumer Price Index, but the ebb-and-flow of this cost yardstick often tells a noteworthy tale.

Last year, local inflation rose 2.8 percent in the Southern California region covering Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.  That CPI jump was up from 1.9 percent in 2016 and the highest since 3.5 percent in 2008, the year the previous economic boom ended.  Nationally, CPI was up 2.1 percent in 2017 after rising 1.3 percent in 2016.

It's probably a surprise to nobody that rising inflation is linked to the local CPI's "shelter expense" - one measure of what it takes to own or rent and operate a household - which remains at its highest rate since 2007.  Shelter costs rose 4.5 percent in 2017.  Nationally, shelter expenses rose 3.3 percent last year and 3.4 percent in 2016.

Check out the full story:
https://www.ocregister.com/2018/02/02/southern-california-inflation-hits-9-year-high-blame-housing/

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