How bad is inflation in your area?

[Rasulis]

I was thinking of taking up gardening this summer because these prices are wild. I am not paying $12 for grapes. Who in the motherfucking fuck?

Is that per pound? That's just nuts. I linked the weekly add for our local Safeway. Unfortunately, the local markets that we frequented don't bother to advertise.

Red seedless grapes are $1.48 per pound. The green ones are $2.99 per pound. Organic Strawberries are $4 per pound. Sweet corns 2 for $1. We got them at Sunset Supermarket on Friday 5 for $2. Cherries, my favorite, are $6 per pound. However, it is early in the season. During peak season it usually goes down to $1.99 per pound.

[Fencers]

Is that per pound? That's just nuts.

They were like 5-something a pound. They sell them in 2-2.5lb packages around here. You can't buy them loose at my local grocer. So it was like $12 by the time I was checking out. I put them right back. Wine is cheaper. Momma will drink her grapes.

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Hydroponics is looking fun right now.

I have been looking into it actually. The Aerogarden and Click & Grow. I have a terrible time keeping plants alive but these are supposedly "easy".

[Spectral]

I was thinking of taking up gardening this summer because these prices are wild. I am not paying $12 for grapes. Who in the motherfucking fuck?

We're growing a ton of tomatoes this year. The upsides of freeish food, better quality, and the satisfaction of growing things is just too good! If I had a real yard, I'd be inclined to do a lot more.

The fact that food prices have soared way more than durable goods could indicate a transient nature to inflation, but it's certainly more painful to the extent that avoiding food costs is a hell of a lot harder than passing on a new TV.

[PC2]

I'm afraid that this won't be temporary. We are experiencing something unique that might take decades to run its course.

I can't think of anything that's been lost in recent times that has to take decades to recover.

Regarding the cost of products I think people should be optimistic because logic dictates that those costs can always be reduced down further until the number is close to matching the cost of raw materials. So if something costs significantly more than its base materials then that shows that there is significant room for improvement.

[Icelin]

So the housing crisis is global. Not only do the people need to combat rising costs of food and gas. The rental/housing costs out of control. I have had several people tell me that this housing bubble will pop sooner than later. Some articles even hint that it is already starting to pop.. Yet I read an article today about Blackstone setting up shop in the GTA of Canada. Not to be confused with BlackRock.

Blackstone, that United Nations tried to combat them and didn't succeed. (How is that even a thing?) Blackstone spent at least $6.2 million to defeat California's Proposition 10, which would have allowed cities to enact rent control. This just happens to one of many investment companies that are buying up properties.. kicking people out. Not re-selling but instead making it a rental. A rental that costs x3-4 the original asking price. (that most people can't afford) I think it is a more healthy mindset to be an optimist but I would rather inform people of the reality that it does not look like it will be slowing down. More so when I see them opening up more shops on a global scale.

[Fencers]

We're growing a ton of tomatoes this year. The upsides of freeish food, better quality, and the satisfaction of growing things is just too good! If I had a real yard, I'd be inclined to do a lot more.

The fact that food prices have soared way more than durable goods could indicate a transient nature to inflation, but it's certainly more painful to the extent that avoiding food costs is a hell of a lot harder than passing on a new TV.

Yeah, I feel like food and clothing are just soaring. I used to buy a dozen eggs for literally 99 cents each a year ago. I haven't seen eggs commonly less than $2.50/dozen in months now.

Tomatoes used to be around $0.49/lb but now it's around $0.70-0.90/lb. Dairy and animal products are even higher. "8%/inflation", my ass.

I have kids and they grow or wear out clothes quickly. When my daughter went back to school it costs a few hundred dollars for the uniforms and bullshit like bow ties.

I didn't expect a fucking bowtie shortage in 2022.

[hellhamster]

I can't think of anything that's been lost in recent times that has to take decades to recover.

Regarding the cost of products I think people should be optimistic because logic dictates that those costs can always be reduced down further until the number is close to matching the cost of raw materials. So if something costs significantly more than its base materials then that shows that there is significant room for improvement.

Japan was the fastest growing economy in the world after WW2, but they have been stagnating since the 80's, they have yet to recover.

I'm guessing that we might see something similar happening. We need to wait and see how inflation is combated, but if the recent stock market performance is any indication, it's looking grim.

[Milchshake]

Garden is already in high gear. Like the saying goes, the best time for planting is yesterday. Already have a few pounds of fresh greens and strawberries.

Walking the dogs in the park I spotted some morels. Found a whole trove of them, which at $54/pound felt like winning the lottery. Gonna be pasta with fresh morels and garlic scapes tonight.

[Rasulis]

So the housing crisis is global. Not only do the people need to combat rising costs of food and gas. The rental/housing costs out of control. I have had several people tell me that this housing bubble will pop sooner than later. Some articles even hint that it is already starting to pop.. Yet I read an article today about Blackstone setting up shop in the GTA of Canada. Not to be confused with BlackRock.

Blackstone, that United Nations tried to combat them and didn't succeed. (How is that even a thing?) Blackstone spent at least $6.2 million to defeat California's Proposition 10, which would have allowed cities to enact rent control. This just happens to one of many investment companies that are buying up properties.. kicking people out. Not re-selling but instead making it a rental. A rental that costs x3-4 the original asking price. (that most people can't afford) I think it is a more healthy mindset to be an optimist but I would rather inform people of the reality that it does not look like it will be slowing down. More so when I see them opening up more shops on a global scale.

Rent in the US is out of control, and is still going up. The previously affordable regions are getting hit the hardest. Here are median rent as a percentage of median household income for several metro areas as of February 2022.

Miami - Ft. Lauderdale - W. Palm Beach - 59.5%
Los Angeles - Long Beach - Anaheim - 46%
Riverside - San Bernardino - Ontario - 45.9% (used to be considered the most affordable region in Southern California)
Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater - 44.7%
Atlanta - Sandy Springs - Alpharetta - 44%
San Diego - Carlsbad - 42.9%
New York - Newark - Jersey City - 40.9%
Las Vegas - Henderson - Paradise - 39.6% (barely more affordable than New York - Newark - Jersey City which is insane)
New Orleans - Metaine - 37.2%
Orlando - Kissimee - Sanford - 36.7%
Phoenix - Mesa - Scottsdale - 34.7%

[Fencers]

Housing prices in Florida are outrageous. What a time to sell. If I still owned my home in Orland I would be a millionaire right now.

[Witchblade77]

our garden is not doing well and while I can figure out why our cucumber seedlings didn't do well (we got hit by some crap weather) I cannot for the life of me figure out what the fuck happened to our bed of asparagus. it was doing fantastic last year, we protected it over winter same as we did last few years... but this spring.. there is nothing. we also had some.. I'm not sure what exactly the plant is, but its like a cross between kale and cabbage, fantastic in stir fry - die in tat same bed. as in there is nothing showing up either. and it usually does by now not to mention, we have two of those plants in adjacent raised beds, and the one in the other bed is doing fine, probably going to start using it in cooking in a few days. oh and that bed with asparagus? its half asparagus, half rubar. has been for years now. rubarb is showing up, not ready to pick yet, but its growing. asparagus? nothing. sigh... could NOT have picked better timing for that :/

I'm genuinely considering training myself out of my love for tomatoes. because the prices are starting to get slightly insane on those and rather then eating everything that we grow as it ripens (don't @me), starting to can more again to stretch them through the year

[Rasulis]

Housing prices in Florida are outrageous. What a time to sell. If I still owned my home in Orland I would be a millionaire right now.

That is part of the problem. The unrelenting ascent has priced out many would-be homebuyers, forcing them to rent instead and placing upward pressure on the rental markets. This is happening everywhere. Florida is just the worst.

[Fencers]

That is part of the problem. The unrelenting ascent has priced out many would-be homebuyers, forcing them to rent instead and placing upward pressure on the rental markets. This is happening everywhere. Florida is just the worst.

My former boss sold her property in Florida about 2 months ago. She got a mint in Orlando. A little over a mil for 4 bedroom ranch. It was right in Ivanhoe, IIRC. Less than 4k square ft. I went there once, it was tiny.

There is a 5bd/6ba about a quarter-mile from our house here in Chicago going for like 2m. Which I think is reasonable compared to the shit we had in Florida that today is selling at the same rate.

[Rasulis]

My former boss sold her property in Florida about 2 months ago. She got a mint in Orlando. A little over a mil for 4 bedroom ranch. It was right in Ivanhoe, IIRC. Less than 4k square ft. I went there once, it was tiny.

There is a 5bd/6ba about a quarter-mile from our house here in Chicago going for like 2m. Which I think is reasonable compared to the shit we had in Florida that today is selling at the same rate.

In the middle of the pandemic (2020), my wife and I decided that we were tired of living in the mountain of San Diego, and wanted a change of pace. So we traded our home and all of our rental properties in San Diego for a home in San Francisco, two cottages in Napa and a condo in Tiburon.

Since the prices were high already, we figured we won’t see any appreciation for awhile. We thought that we may even see prices drop. We were wrong. In April 2022, Inner Sunset home prices were up 41.9% compared to last year. From the time we bought the home in October 2020, it has gone up a little over 70%. My wife has been a broker/developer for over 30 years, and she has never seen appreciation like that before.

The one positive aspect about San Francisco housing market is that rental is still below pre-pandemic. I have to add that entry level homes (less than 1,000 sq. feet) are stable. The biggest increase is in the prices of the larger homes (2,000 sq. feet and up). The larger the home, the higher the price per sq. foot. Very counter intuitive.

[Fencers]

In the middle of the pandemic (2020), my wife and I decided that we were tired of living in the mountain of San Diego, and wanted a change of pace. So we traded our home and all of our rental properties in San Diego for a home in San Francisco, two cottages in Napa and a condo in Tiburon.

Since the prices were high already, we figured we won’t see any appreciation for awhile. We thought that we may even see prices drop. We were wrong. In April 2022, Inner Sunset home prices were up 41.9% compared to last year. From the time we bought the home in October 2020, it has gone up a little over 70%. My wife has been a broker/developer for over 30 years, and she has never seen appreciation like that before.

The one positive aspect about San Francisco housing market is that rental is still below pre-pandemic. I have to add that entry level homes (less than 1,000 sq. feet) are stable. The biggest increase is in the prices of the larger homes (2,000 sq. feet and up). The larger the home, the higher the price per sq. foot. Very counter intuitive.

We lived in San Francisco before moving back east. It wasn't our home, in that it was part of my husband's signing bonus at the time. But I looked at that property area in San Rafael and they are easy 2x the worth of the last home we had in the area.

We should have never moved back east in retrospect. I only mildly regret selling the Florida property because I hated FL frankly. But the stuff in Osceola is way overpriced and I don't think those homes are worth shit in central Florida. I could sell that place today and get like a nice spot in Pacific Grove.

I know a lot of these places are being bought up by companies like Zillow. Though even still, there ain't no home in Poinciana worth 2 million. Get the fuck out.

[Shadowferal]

I'm reminded of a film yhat had strawberries at $150/glass. It was supposed to be science fiction...

[MCMLXXXII]

I'm reminded of a film yhat had strawberries at $150/glass. It was supposed to be science fiction...

Well that was an easy guess. Just compare stuff from the 40's or 50's you could buy for a dime and current costs...

[Ihavewaffles]

Bread is way up, but my sandwiches!!!

[Rasulis]

I'm reminded of a film yhat had strawberries at $150/glass. It was supposed to be science fiction...

We have ways to go before we get to that point. We bought organic strawberries for 99c/lb this weekend at Sunset Supermarket. Also, Skylar Rae cherries for 99c/lb. A pleasant surprise. I guess they have started growing those in California also. I thought they only grew Bing here.

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My wife just yelled that we are going to Daly City Ranch 99 this Friday. They got live lobster for $13.99/lb. Live as in swimming in the tank and you point which one you want.

[Rasulis]

I plan to help a neighbor replaced his fence tomorrow. So, we went to Home Depot today for supplies. Here are some price comparisons from when I replaced the chain link fence around our home in San Diego in early to mid 2020. In the middle of the pandemic.

Pressure treated douglas fir slats (5/8 in. x 5-1/2 in. x 6 ft.) - $1.28 (2020) & $2.98 (2022). Yikes.

We were going to use postmaster galvanized steel post - $26.98 (2020) & $57.98 (2022). We ended up with 1-5/8" galvanized steel round pole ($12.98) which is a much cheaper option even with the brackets (two per post at $2.98 each).

The really crazy part is quickcrete. A 25-lb bag was $2.00 in 2020 and $5.98 in 2022. Triple the price in 2 years.

Crazy inflation. I am glad the lots here are only around 0.1 acre and 1+ acre like our San Diego lot. Actually, not sure why I care. My neighbor paid for all the materials.