drblah1 t1_jef738y wrote on March 31, 2023 at 3:56 PM

In regards to real estate, it's because the average person stays in a home they purchased somewhere around 10 years before buying another and moving. Although the value of a person's house obviously affects their bottom line, people can easily live through an inflation increase and decrease cycle without ever having to deal with the real estate market. Locked in interest rates can easily avoid the cycle as well. Stuff like the prices of groceries, gas etc are felt by everyone constantly and are a better measure of what people are dealing with in regards to inflation.

DeludedRaven OP t1_jef7fk1 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 3:58 PM

So in terms of placing an accurate number on inflation as felt by the consumer its best to look at the price of groceries, energy etc?

I see your point on housing.

drblah1 t1_jef8uid wrote on March 31, 2023 at 4:08 PM

That's a reason why real estate may be excluded. All this stuff is tracked however, and things like food and energy may or may not be included in certain numbers as well. Energy can be affected by things like wars, natural and unnatural disasters and shutdowns, while food is subject to extreme weather, diseases, fuel costs etc. However you want to count it though, all these things either directly or indirectly affect the cost of everything else eventually.

The things affecting a family of 5 and the things affecting someone running a business are very different, so various tracking methods and numbers are used.