For the first time since January, prices along the Wasatch Front took a small step backward in October. The Zions Bank Wasatch Front Consumer Price Index (CPI) decreased 0.4 percent from September to October due mainly to seasonal changes in demand for apartment rentals and hotels and motels. Although the index has decreased slightly since September, the cost of living within the state is still up 3.3 percentfrom this time last year.
Meanwhile, the national Consumer Price Index decreased 0.1 percent from September to October and has increased 2.0 percent since October 2016.
Much of October’s cost-of-living decrease can be explained by seasonal decreases in demand for rentals. Month-over-month, housing prices have decreased 1.5 percent statewide. According to historical Wasatch Front Consumer Price Index data, overall housing prices typically fall during the month of October, as demand for housing and hotel rooms decreases significantly following the busy summer months. Prices in other areas of the economy remained relatively stable in October, a good sign for an economy that has witnessed relatively high levels of inflation in recent months.
“This year, growth within Utah’s economy has had a large impact on the cost of living increases that Utahns are seeing statewide,” said Scott Anderson, Zions Bank president and CEO. “It’s encouraging to see price stability within many sectors of the economy, a trend that I anticipate continues in future months.”
Although prices in October remained relatively flat, the following sectors witnessed slight price increases:
• Education and telecommunication prices increased 1.2 percent in October and 4.8 percent since last year, as prices for Internet providers continue to increase slightly.
• Food-away prices increased 0.8 percent in October, and are up 5.2 percent year-over-year due to substantial price increases for full-service meals.
Food at home, utilities, medical care and recreation prices all remained unchanged from September. Continued price stability should be a key component to a healthy statewide economy in the future, Anderson said.
“As the Utah economy continues to grow at its historic pace, it is likely that inflationary pressures will continue in certain sectors such as housing,” said Randy Shumway, chairman and partner at Cicero Group, a Salt Lake City market research firm that does data collection and analysis for the CPI. “The easing of these pressures in the housing sector, as we saw in October, is a good sign that Utah’s growth is healthy and sustainable.”