when evaluating housing and shelter owners equivalent rent of a primary residence is one of the three components of the shelter category contributing to the consumer price index cpi which measures the average change over time in the prices paid by consumers for a market basket of goods and services 
the calculation takes into account rental values owners equivalent rent and lodging away from home these three components are drivers of changes in the total value of shelter collectively these components can be influenced by the real estate market environment overall as well as various monetary factors such as prevailing interest rates property taxes available mortgage products and insurance for instance in april 2023 the shelter component of the consumer price index reported a 0 4 monthly increase and an 8 1 annual increase shelter prices were among the highest increases across the cpi in the previous year with transportation and food away from home having the highest impact in april 2023 the cpi s average increase across all items was 0 4 2in addition to serving as a component of the cpi the bureau of labor statistics also provides data on fluctuations in owners equivalent rent monthly this owners equivalent rent is a percentage change that is published by the bureau of labor statistics to measure the change in implicit rent which is the amount a homeowner would pay to rent or would earn from renting their home in a competitive market 3