Florida TaxWatch Provides Update on Florida’s Rental Market
Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch released 2024 Update: Long-Term Rental Markets in Florida, building on a January 2023 economic commentary, to assess Florida’s high rental market prices and the negative impact on the state’s workforce and economy.
Florida TaxWatch Executive Vice President & General Counsel and Acting President & CEO Jeff Kottkamp said, “Florida is still welcoming an influx of new residents, from young families to retirees, every single day, but affordability – which is largely driven by housing costs – determines whether they will stay in our great state. Fortunately, initiatives like the ‘Live Local Act’ of 2023 have helped the rental market begin to stabilize, but the Florida Legislature must continue to support renters and ensure Florida remains both a desirable and affordable place to live and work. Florida TaxWatch is proud to offer this commentary as a resource to assist in those efforts.”
While Florida’s median rental prices rose from $1,187 in December 2020 to $1,545 in December 2023, they peaked in June 2022 and have steadily declined over the last 18 months. Still, rental prices across the state remain higher than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, but Florida TaxWatch cites a projected decrease in rental demand that should soon begin lowering prices in some areas.
According to Florida TaxWatch, rental prices in Florida’s large cities, such as Tampa, Miami, and Jacksonville, have grown exponentially since 2020 – primarily due to the increasing popularity of remote work. However, as of November 2023, other metropolitan areas in the state have experienced a decline in rental price growth, indicating a potential “slow-down” as 2024 continues.
In the meantime, Florida TaxWatch asserts that state-to-state migration, especially with neighboring states like Georgia, could lead to potential negative impacts on Florida’s workforce and economy as more people choose to work and/or live where there are lower rental prices and they have more financial flexibility to afford health insurance, childcare, and other essentials. In 2022, for example, 51,380 Florida residents moved to Georgia – where the average rent for an apartment has been recorded as approximately $200 less than Florida – accounting for more than 15 percent of the total new Georgia residents that year.
For more information and to access the full commentary, please click here.
About Florida TaxWatch
As an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit government watchdog and taxpayer research institute, and the trusted “eyes and ears” of Florida taxpayers for more than 45 years, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) works to improve the productivity and accountability of Florida government. Its research recommends productivity enhancements and explains the statewide impact of fiscal and economic policies and practices on taxpayers and businesses. FTW is supported by its membership via voluntary, tax-deductible donations and private grants. Donations provide a solid, lasting foundation that has enabled FTW to bring about a more effective, responsive government that is more accountable to, and productive for, the taxpayers it serves since 1979. For more information, please visit www.floridataxwatch.org.