Florida Gets Label as Least Affordable Place to Live in the U.S. Amid Skyrocketing Rents

Miami, Florida was designated as America's least affordable place to live in February, with the average monthly rent in the metro area at $2,930, according to Realtor.com.

The Florida rent stands on par with San Francisco and Los Angeles and is double the level considered affordable for people in the region, given the local median income, CBS News reported.

Areas in Florida with the fastest-growing rents in the country over the past year include Miami, Orlando, and Tampa. Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com., said these Sun Belt markets, particularly Florida, have been on top of the list for the last couple of months.

A resident from Chicago thought the move to Florida would be easy. Sally Starkey said they thought they would have no problem finding a place to live when her husband found a job nearby, Wink News reported.

Starkey noted that it took them until two weeks before they were out of their apartment in Chicago. The couple found a two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse worth $3,500, about 20 percent more than what they paid for their Chicago apartment.

Florida House Market

The housing market in Florida has been "festering for years," with the state seeing a population growth while also enticing new residents and businesses attracted by low taxes and an anti-regulation agenda.

John Boyd, principal of the Boyd Co., a site-selection firm in Boca Raton, Florida, noted that deep-pocketed executives were "sort of playing with house money" as there were still bargains in Palm Beach County, Broward County, and Miami-Dade compared to the prices of Bay Area.

As Florida attracts many Americans to live in the state, the wave of newcomers squeezes many long-time residents, particularly those low-paid service industry workers and older residents on a fixed income.

Such as the case of Michele DeMoske-Weiss, who is a retired nurse who lives on a fixed income. DeMoske-Weiss said she felt great for the first 15 years, adding that it felt like being on vacation.

However, she noted that it changed for the second 15 years, describing it as miserable. Florida explicitly prohibits rent control, which could put a cap on skyrocketing rents.

Florida Population Growth

Florida followed Texas in population increases from 2020 to 2021, while the nation had the slowest growth rate in its history. From July 1, 2020 to July 1, 2021, Florida grew by 211,196 to a population of 21,781,128, according to Orlando Weekly.

While Florida continued to see significant population increases, the U.S. Census Bureau said the country's growth rate was 0.1 percent, the lowest rate ever. The bureau noted that it stemmed from several factors, including COVID-19 deaths.

In a statement, Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the census bureau's population division, said population growth has been slowing for years because of lower birth rates and decreasing net international migration. Wilder added that mortality rates are rising due to the aging of the nation's population.

Florida had the largest net migration gains in the country, an estimation of people moving in and out of the state. The state also had the biggest "natural" decrease in population based on the number of births and deaths.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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