Florida rental market still a challenge after increase of over 300k households between 2020 and 2022
Press release from University of Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – National reports indicate that rent growth is declining and the market is shifting in tenants’ favor. But in Florida, it may still be some time before prices level off or decrease.
With continuing population growth, Florida is an extreme version of what is happening in several strong rental markets in the country, said Anne Ray, manager of the Florida Housing Data Clearinghouse at UF’s Shimberg Center for Housing Studies.
“A slight cooldown would stop things from getting worse for renters looking for an affordable unit in Florida, but it can’t make up for double-digit percentage rent increases that already took place the last couple years,” Ray said. “This means the rental market is stabilizing at a really high rate.”
Experts with UF’s Shimberg Center for Housing Studies recently collected data on Florida’s affordable rental housing needs and discovered a number of key findings:
- 825,990 low-income households in Florida pay more than 40% of their income for rent.
- Florida added hundreds of thousands of rental units between 2012 and 2021 but lost units renting for $1,000 or less.
- Florida added nearly 600,000 units with rents above $1,000 from 2012 to 2021.
- More than one-third of low-income, cost-burdened renter households are headed by someone age 55 or older.
- Renters at all income levels participate in the workforce. Most non-working renter households are made up of older adults or persons with disabilities.
- The county with the largest number of low-income, cost-burdened renters in 2021 was Miami-Dade, followed by Broward County.
The data, collected for the period between 2012 and 2021, found large increases in rent and households paying more than they could afford, Ray said.
The state of Florida’s households of all types increased by 309,594 between 2020 and 2022, according to UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR). All 67 Florida counties were estimated to have gained households between 2020 and 2022. Miami-Dade County had the largest increase in households between 2020 and 2022, growing by 24,040.
“We saw population growth of about 1,000 individuals moving to the state of Florida per day during the pandemic between 2020-2022,” said Richard Doty, GIS coordinator and research demographer at the Bureau. “Robust growth is still occurring within our state. While not at the same rates as during the pandemic, we’re still seeing notable increases.”
Led by Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, the Florida Legislature also took action during the 2023 legislative session to boost the state’s rental housing supply and drive down prices. The Live Local Act, which took effect July 1, includes tax breaks, incentives for development, and a record $811 million in funding to help address the shortage.
“Tenants have a lot of ground to make up after years of hot rental markets in Florida,” Ray said. “Affordable housing will continue to be a challenge for quite a while.”
She has to be wrong. From what I’ve read people are leaving Florida in droves because of DeSantis and his policies.
On a local level, the progressive knuckleheads and the liberal lemmings who voted for them are causing rental rates to increase. Wonder if those who own the properties around UF would be willing to lower the rent for equity’s sake. Maybe UF will lower tuition rates for all students and allow local students the same opportunities as out of state students who pay 3X the amount of locals. Gainesville is predominantly Democrat voters isn’t it? Don’t they care many of their own aren’t able to pay the rent, GRU bill and cellphone bill?
Time for them to stop the hypocrisy or at least come clean and be honest about it.
Yeah right….like the right wing republican fascists can do better.
Truth hurts doesn’t it?
Must suck to wake up every morning and say you’re partially to blame. Then again it must make you feel good that you’re only partially to blame. There’s many more liberals like yourself in the neighborhood.
The only people leaving FL in “droves” are the radical left and people who listen to and believe them. This is why the fifty states have their own sets of rules, as set by the Constitution. The country was not originally created to be a single conglomerated mess.
Hence the need for more single owner-occupied housing AND verified immigration status. Illegals live in group homes and other adult citizens do, too — driving up housing costs due to more demand and ability to pay more together. That crowds out families and retirees the housing was originally designed for. 👹🤡🍦🍦🍦
I own a small apartment complex close to downtown. My insurance went from $19,000 to $45,000 this year. My property taxes increase by 38.7% last year even though we are in an enterprise zone. No doubt with the GRU debacle the property taxes will probably double. AC units that were $4000 are now $6125 and all other maintenance labor has doubled since covid. New government regulations are also increasing cost. This is why the rental rates have increased.
Those are crazy numbers. Unfortunately government doesn’t control insurance rates. However, it does play a role in property taxes and added special assessments that add to those locally imposed taxes/fees. Add to that the GRU rates they, (locally elected leaders), chose to raise incrementally for the next several years in excess of 4% it’s no wonder rentals have gone up as have non-rental properties.
Just curious, did you vote for the current leaders who caused your expenses to increase?
I voted for Ed Bielarski. I figured if the powers that be fired him, he must be the right man for the job. Maybe after his new book that explains the GRU debacle the small number of people in Gainesville that actually vote will elect him next time. I do not know nor care if he is a Republican or Democrat.
He was the obvious lesser of two evils.
He got my vote as well. I’m tired of the lying, conniving Ward and everyone who resembles him – politically of course. Might as well say morally and ethically as well.
Two things the whiners don’t want to acknowledge are, the so called permitting system for rentals that requires rental units to exceed building codes, plus fees of course. This fiasco was another present to G’ville by their inept Democrat masters. On the national level, Biden and the Democrats stopped evictions for nonpayment of rent. That meant a free ride for many, using both their former rent money and thousands in government handouts for whatever (but not rent). That lost income did not stop mortgage money required on the property. Landlords started making it up when leases expired.
Looks like despite all the liberals best efforts in Gville the only ‘affordable’ housing is limited to those willing to work for a living. Otherwise….besides section 8 housing it’s still looking like Grace is the place with weather permitting overnight stays under the interstate.
UF could stop demolishing and began rebuilding affordable, on-campus housing.