It’s not only getting more expensive to buy a home. It’s also getting much costlier to furnish a home.
The price of household furniture jumped 1.2 percent in July, according to Producer Price Index data released Thursday. Compared with a year ago, the index for home furniture is up nine percent.
A broader category that includes furniture and other household durable goods is up 7.2 percent, the largest gain since 1980.
This is not a category showing big annual gains due to a dip in prices last year. Prices for household durables actually rose last summer. But over the last six months, they have been on an unending inflationary climb.
The Producer Price Index for home electronics rose 1.9 percent in July and is up 3.6 percent compared with a year ago. That’s the largest annual increase since 1979 and the largest monthly gain since 1981. In general, prices for home electronics have fallen over the last sixty years.
Household appliance prices jumped 2.9 percent in July compared with June. Major household appliances were up 3.2 percent. Cooking appliances rose 2.6 percent—and compared with a year ago these are up 6.2 percent.
Lawn and garden equipment rose 1.5 percent. Prices are up 3.2 percent annually.