Inflation? It’s Here!!

Inflation Poses Greatest Risk of More Losses for Sellers Waiting

With the Economy having struggled this past year with near 10% unemployment, excessive deficit spending, and a sluggish housing recovery, the last thing skittish investors want to worry about is Inflation. It’s TOO Late!! It’s already here.

Except for investors who stockpiled cash, most Americans have already begun to feel the pinch from higher prices. According to Bill King and The King Report, while incom3s have remained relatively flat since 2000, th4e cost of many consumer expenses and items risen sharply – more sharply than many have even realized.

Consider the following increases since 2000:

• Home Owners Insurance —    +180%
• Real Estate Taxes —                +77%
• Heating Oil —                          +150%
• Electricity —                            +50
• Gasoline —                               >200% (and still rising)
• Medicare Premiums —            +143%

And groceries haven’t fared any better:

• Potatoes —                               +67
• Eggs —                                     +93%
• Bread —                                   +50%

These are the kinds of items that have a direct impact on the average consumer; and this is compounded when considering the 16% of the potential labor force that isn’t working, and the many more who are woefully under employed simply to have some source of income.

Except for Wall Street, how are most people making ends meet?  Either with great difficulty – or not at all.  If inflation becomes an even greater issue, it could set a whole new floor to Real Estate prices with $4.00 per gallon gas looming on the horizon.