Talking about the national level of inflation has its place, but so does recognizing that year-over-year increased costs of living vary greatly by region. While interest rates get triggered by national rates, high local inflation could make it difficult for many people to support the types of rent increases that landlords facing the need to support higher financing costs might seek.

The Consumer Price Index saw a year-over-year increase of 3.2% in October. Overall, shelter costs continued to rise, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, offsetting lower energy prices. In non-seasonally adjusted numbers, they were up 6.7% year over year, second only to the 9.2% for transportation services. The cost of a home remains the big ongoing cause of higher inflation, which ironically means one of the big drivers for higher inflation that has driven up the high interest rates as the Federal Reserve tries to fight rising prices.

As inflation is connected to the rising cost of housing, then regions with higher inflation will more likely see higher rent increases. All that paints a picture of pressure on the tenant — residential, primarily — which then increases the owner's risk of regularly obtaining timely payments.