cost Blog and Journals

As the cost of living in South Florida outpaces the rest of the nation, the Treasure Coast is feeling some of the heat.

Consumer prices in South Florida were up sharply to 4.4 percent in May and June, higher than any other major metro area in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Consumer Price Index report, which tracks costs from Miami to West Palm Beach, echoes price pressures that are being felt in this region.

The largest jump came in the cost of housing, which is growing at a 6.7 percent annual rate largely because of the cost of rent. Apartment rents in Miami and Fort Lauderdale have increased 9.1 percent this year.

"There's no question rents have gone up," said David Levin, of the Delray Beach real estate consulting firm David Levin & Associates. Florida's previously hot residential real estate market drew in speculators, and the stock of rentals went down.

With a much smaller rental market and condo-conversion craze, Treasure Coast rent rates for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment have increased only about a dollar in the last year, according to data released last week by California-based Real Facts. The firm tracks rents nationwide.

After housing, food and beverage prices are going up at annual rate of 4.2 percent in South Florida, according to government figures. The milk price jump was especially noticeable in the last month, when the government raised the minimum price processors must pay for milk by 33 cents a gallon. One reason is the cost of corn, which has risen sharply because of increased demand for corn to be used in ethanol. That's driven up feed prices, which are about half the cost of producing milk.

The federal milk price system is structured so that nine Florida counties pay the highest prices in the nation, said Bob Yonkers, chief economist of the International Dairy Foods Association.

Processors in Martin, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade pay an extra 37 cents a gallon because of the distance from here to the Upper Midwest, the nearest part of the country where there is excess milk production. Processors in St. Lucie and Indian River counties pay 30 cents extra.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also says South Florida had a strong 5.4 percent annual gain in an unusual category of consumer goods that combines the cost of education, books, school supplies, tuition and fees with the cost of telephone service and information-technology hardware and servers and personal computers.

High gas prices have contributed to higher transportation costs. South Florida's gas and diesel fuel costs are rising at a 5.7 percent annual rate, greater than the nation's 4.9 percent rate.

On the Treasure Coast, gas prices were 3.8 percent higher in June than a year earlier, according to Gasbuddy.com, a consumer-driven Web site that tracks fuel prices.

That may be the key to the whole picture, suggests economist William Stronge, a Florida Atlantic University professor emeritus.

"You have to ask yourself why should we be different than New York City or other cities," he said. "It could be that transportation costs are somewhat higher."

The Sun-Sentinel contributed to this story.

TREASURE COAST BY THE NUMBERS

Average fuel prices on the Treasure Coast in June, compared with the same time in 2006: 3.8% increase

Median price for an existing single-family home:

Martin County: 6.3% decrease

St. Lucie County: 9.4% decrease

Indian River County: 10.4% decrease

Average rent on the Treasure Coast for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in the second quarter of 2007: 0.1% increase

Average utility bills

Florida Power and Light: 4.8% decrease

Fort Pierce Utilities Authority: 7.5% increase

Vero Beach Utilities: 16.6% increase, as of August 1