Two Florida cities, Miami and Orlando, lead the nation in rental housing cost increases through the first few months of 2022, reflecting a scorching-hot national housing market.
Miami marked the highest increases in America, increasing at a clip of 38.6 percent on average. Orlando trails behind, occupying second place with an average cost rise of 19.9 percent. Nationally, single-family rent prices rose a shade under 13 percent from a year earlier, though Florida is outpacing the nation due to a high increase of people moving to the state, leading to an increased demand for rentals.
“Rent has increased dramatically in many parts of Florida the past year. Inflation is at a 40 year high so prices for everything are going up nationally,” said DeSantis Spokeswoman Christina Pushaw on Twitter. “But in Florida we are seeing a bigger spike in rent prices because so many people are moving here. Demand outpaces supply.”
Lawmakers have recognized the skyrocketing price and increasing prevalence of native Floridians being priced out of neighborhoods, though the proposed legislation has fallen on deaf ears.
“No legislation passed this session to address the ridiculous cost of rent, condo safety, or property insurance rates,” said Rep. Anna V. Eskamani. “Easier to distract than solve problems.”
Rent prices reached an all-time national high to kick off the new year, rising to $1,374 in January, reflecting a 12 percent year-over-year increase. The median two-bedroom rose to $1,698, a 14.1 percent year-over-year rise.
Foreign real estate acted as a secondary influence on Florida rent prices, particularly in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan area. Foreign real estate investors brought upwards of $12 billion to the Florida economy in 2021, totaling 22,500 existing homes purchased at a medium cost of $347,300.
The Miami metropolitan area, including West Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale, accounted for over 50 percent of properties purchased, followed by the Orlando region (10%), Tampa (8%), Cape Coral-Ft. Myers (5%), and Sarasota (4%).
Forty-three percent of Florida’s foreign buyers purchased in a central city or urban area, an increase from 34 percent in the prior 12-month period. The increase can be explained by the higher share of buyers from Latin America, who tend to purchase properties in the Miami metro area. Nationally, 28 percent of all U.S. foreign buyers purchased properties in a central city/urban area.
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday placed blame on the Center for Disease Control on rising rent prices, positing that an enforced rent moratorium served as a contributing factor.
“The CDC basically had a moratorium that said that people didn’t really have to pay rent. And I’m not saying people here weren’t. Some may not have been,” DeSantis said. “What’s happening now is all these people who own these properties are charging more to make up for what was there.”
Miami, the most expensive real estate market in Florida, holds a medium rent price of $2,340 for a one-bedroom apartment, while Orlando has a one-bedroom median listing at $1,733