October 10, 2019

It seems that inflation in rental costs may be slowing modestly. The annualized rate of inflation, comparing the last three months with the prior three months, for the owners’ equivalent rent (OER) index was 3.2 percent, down from a 3.4 percent increase over the last year. There are sharply divergent patterns across cities. In Seattle, the 12-month inflation rate for OER had peaked at more than 6.5 percent last year. It is now just over 4.5 percent. In Chicago, the inflation rate for OER had been close to 2.5 percent before rising to more than 4.0 percent last year. It has since fallen back to just over 3.0 percent. The inflation rate for OER in Los Angeles is still close to its high of 5.0 percent. The inflation rates for OER in both New York and Washington, DC, are both low and trending slightly downward. In the case of New York, the inflation rate is just under 2.0 percent. For Washington, DC, it is just over 1.0 percent. For more, check out the latest Prices Byte.