The cost of housing in Georgia is growing at an unprecedented pace as the U.S. faces the highest levels of inflation in 40 years.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently released its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month of April. An 8.3% inflation rate is the highest it has been in four decades. Housing costs are a main contributor, as they have risen at their fastest yearly pace in 31 years across the country, and by 27% in Georgia. Poor economic conditions continue to upset Americans and are causing a decline in the president's polling numbers.
The BLS on Wednesday released the CPI data for the 12 months ending in April. The data showed an 8.3% all-items annual increase, the largest contributors being increases in the indexes for shelter, food, airline fares, and new vehicles. The index for shelter climbed another 0.5% during April, and 5.1% in the last 12 months. Food rose by 9.4% and energy by 30.3% in the last year.
The 5.1% yearly jump in shelter costs, which comprise about one-third of the CPI, is the fastest rate since 1991, according to CNBC.
MarketWatch reported that food, shelter, and medical care account for approximately 55% of a typical family’s monthly budget, and inflation is accelerating in all three categories. The first quarter of 2022 brought the fastest rise in shelter costs in 31 years and the fastest rise in food prices in 41 years, and medical-care prices are going up at the fastest pace since the pandemic hit.
The cost of gas, on the other hand, dipped slightly in April, but MarketWatch writer Rex Nutting warned that the cost of more important necessities remains high.
“Although the pace of consumer-price inflation cooled slightly in April, don’t think for a minute that America’s inflation problems are in the past,” Nutting said. “Gasoline prices may have temporarily softened in April, but prices for the things that really count the most — shelter, food, and medical care — are still blisteringly hot.”
One Savannah, Georgia, resident, Matthew Rice, told CNBC that signs of inflation are visible everywhere in the state, especially at gas stations and grocery stores.
“We have, at times, made substitutions based off what’s available because of the supply chain,” Rice said. “And at times, due to the price, we maybe try other brands of products that we normally would not have tried before.”
CNBC said inflation is at the forefront of voters’ minds during the upcoming 2022 midterm elections. Sen. Raphael Warnock (Ga.), a Democrat who many Republicans hope to unseat, is up for re-election in November.
The typical value of a Georgia home is $300,885 – a value that is seasonally adjusted and includes the middle-price tier of homes, according to Zillow’s home value index. On average, Georgia’s home values have jumped 27.3% over the past year.
Americans have a gloomy outlook on the nation’s economy, according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS, an independent research company. Surveys obtained between April 28 and May 1 showed that a majority of U.S. adults say Pres. Joe Biden’s policies have hurt the economy, and eight in 10 say the government is not doing enough to combat inflation.
In the same survey, 23% of Americans rate economic conditions as somewhat good, down from December’s 37% and April 2021’s 54%. CNN said the last time public perception of the economy was this poor in their polling was November 2011, when 18% of Americans labeled economic conditions as good.