18 Jul Florida, a growing bright spot in the US economy, despite higher inflation.
Florida’s economy is still strong despite the recent slowdown in the US economy and even symptoms of recession in several states, despite the dire predictions of some experts. The job situation is still improving in spite of these signs and the rising interest rates.
The country’s GDP expanded by 2% during the first quarter of the year. Florida saw yearly growth of 3.5%, which is a significant change when considering the hundreds of billions of dollars in economic activity. And among the largest states, including California, New York, and Texas, Florida’s rise was the quickest.
The increase is being fueled by the established economic drivers of real estate and retail. Rising house values, despite higher mortgage rates, contribute to Florida’s quicker pace. Housing prices have been sustained by a combination of demand from newcomers to the state and a lack of available properties. Spending on goods and services, healthcare, lodging, and dining all contributed.
This year, consumer inflation has decreased across the country. May prices were 4% higher than they were in May of last year, which is a significant gain. However, South Florida is not becoming cooler. Prices in April were 9% higher than they had been a year earlier. And when you exclude the cost of food and electricity, it becomes much worse. The so-called core consumer inflation in South Florida, which refers to all of our purchases outside of energy and food, was 10.5%, the highest level in decades.
Real Estate may have a lot to do with this.
Compared to a year ago, the cost of an existing single-family house has actually decreased countrywide, by roughly 3%. In contrast, single-family house values in Broward County were largely unchanged, rose by 1% in Palm Beach County, and increased by over 8% in Miami-Dade.
This comes after the region’s typical property prices increased by double digits over the previous two years. Therefore, housing is the primary cause of the persistently higher inflation we are seeing in South Florida when compared to the rest of the country.
Roberto Sanz / President of HOPE, Hispanic Organization for a Prosperous Economy