Nationally, consumer prices are barely moving, with inflation clocking in at just 1.8% for May. But if you live in a major urban area of California, you’ve noticed a much bigger hit. Among the chief culprits? Housing costs.
Organizers with Housing Long Beach, a local advocacy group, hang up a sign in the courtyard of an apartment complex on Cedar Avenue in Long Beach.
That demand is coming from a growing economy. And Pepperdine University professor Dave Smith said the fact California cities dominate the national inflation measure is a reflection that “economic activity is robust in these given areas and it’s putting upward pressure on prices.”are forcing employers to pay higher wages too, and they’re passing at least some of that along to consumers, said Christopher Thornberg, founding partner of Beacon Economics.
The pace of rent growth has accelerated from last year in Los Angeles and Orange counties, rising 5.4% in May, Bureau of Labor Statistics data show. That mirrors other data from Zillow that indicate the median rent price in both counties has started increasing again after declining slightly at the end of 2018.
“Tenants are caught in an economic vise that is squeezing them more and more,” said Larry Gross, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival.
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