Here are some interesting consumer spending stats culled from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
About 42% of what we spend is on housing -- most of that on rent or rent equivalents. That includes 2.4% on hotels or vacation homes.
The second biggest spending category is on transportation -- about 18% of what we spend. Interestingly, (and probably no surprise) gasoline and other fuel is increasing in price more rapidly than any other consumer category, while we spend less on new cars and trucks than a year ago.
We spend 18% on food and beverages (3% in restaurants; 2.4% on fast food -- that's double the percentage 10 years ago; eggs have been rising in price faster than any other food category), 6% on health care, 6% on recreation, 6% on education and communication (cellphones are now 1% of spending), 4% on apparel (apparel prices have dropped nine of the past 10 years; women spend twice as much as men on clothing) and 3% on other stuff including 0.7% on cigarettes.
Now here are some recent census stats (from yesterday's New York Times) that reinforce what we've said has been happening in the nation's rural heartland -- more people are dying than being born and places in Appalachia and the Great Plains in particular endure ebbing and graying populations. In Pittsburgh public school enrollment is only 30,000 less than half what it was 20 years ago. The city's population stands at 312,000 down from 423,000 in 1980, although the metro is more or less stagnant. In the Pittsburgh metro 24% of the population is 65 or older, more than double the national average. Other metros facing similar declines include Scranton, Utica, Buffalo and Duluth. Keep in mind the U.S. population has doubled in the past 50 years and we expect to add another 100 million people by 2040.
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Jonathan D. Miller
A marketing communication strategist who turned to real estate analysis, Jonathan D. Miller is a foremost interpreter of 21st citistate futures – cities and suburbs alike – seen through the lens of lifestyles and market realities. For more than 20 years (1992-2013), Miller authored Emerging Trends in Real Estate, the leading commercial real estate industry outlook report, published annually by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). He has lectures frequently on trends in real estate, including the future of America's major 24-hour urban centers and sprawling suburbs. He also has been author of ULI’s annual forecasts on infrastructure and its What’s Next? series of forecasts. On a weekly basis, he writes the Trendczar blog for GlobeStreet.com, the real estate news website. Outside his published forecasting work, Miller is a prominent communications/institutional investor-marketing strategist and partner in Miller Ryan LLC, helping corporate clients develop and execute branding and communications programs. He led the re-branding of GMAC Commercial Mortgage to Capmark Financial Group Inc. and he was part of the management team that helped build Equitable Real Estate Investment Management, Inc. (subsequently Lend Lease Real Estate Investments, Inc.) into the leading real estate advisor to pension funds and other real institutional investors. He joined the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the U.S. in 1981, moving to Equitable Real Estate in 1984 as head of Corporate/Marketing Communications. In the 1980's he managed relations for several of the country's most prominent real estate developments including New York's Trump Tower and the Equitable Center. Earlier in his career, Miller was a reporter for Gannett Newspapers. He is a member of the Citistates Group and a board member of NYC Outward Bound Schools and the Center for Employment Opportunities.
