Real Estate Key Driver in Local CPI Jump

NY Times, April 21, 2005 — The Consumer Price Index in the New York City area rose 1.7 percent last month, the largest month-over-month increase in 23 years, the federal Department of Labor said yesterday. The increase, which was far higher than the rise of inflation nationally, was driven largely by the sharply rising real estate sales and rental markets as well as higher prices for clothing, travel and mass transit. “People are continuing to move to the city,” said Michael L. Dolfman, regional commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which oversees the index, a measure of consumer spending for a variety of goods and services. “There is a limited supply of apartments, so this a story of supply and demand again.” Over all, housing costs, which include purchase prices, rose 6.5 percent in March over the same month last year, and are up 3.2 percent in the year to date.
Real Estate Drives Up Consumer Prices in Region [NY Times]