Florida’s booming construction industry has not fully alleviated the ongoing affordable housing crisis, according to a recent report from the University of Florida. While home prices and rents have stabilized following a period of rapid escalation, many Floridians, particularly low-income workers and seniors, continue to face affordability challenges.

The state’s construction output remains strong, with both single-family and multifamily housing growing steadily. As of 2024, Florida’s single-family home inventory reached nearly 5.9 million, with the vast majority—71%—serving as primary residences. However, despite this growth, a significant gap in affordable housing persists, as Anne Ray, the manager of the Florida Housing Data Clearinghouse at UF’s Shimberg Center for Housing Studies, explains.

“Despite growth in the stock, a significant number of Floridians continue to face cost burdens, spending a large portion of their income on housing expenses. When families pay a large share of their income for housing, it’s harder to cover other critical costs such as food, transportation, and health care,” said Ray.

The report highlights that affordability remains a major issue for many residents, particularly those with lower incomes. In the first half of 2024, the median price for a single-family home was $411,600, and the median rent was $1,555. The price disparity is notable, ranging from below $250,000 in rural areas to over $500,000 in coastal communities.

Affordability is especially scarce for renters earning less than 80% of the area median income (AMI), with those below 60% AMI facing the most dire situation. Across Florida, nearly 900,000 renter households in this income bracket spend more than 40% of their income on rent.

While single-family home production has increased in recent years, with 138,717 homes built in 2023, multifamily construction has also surged, with Florida adding 354 multifamily projects that year. Despite this growth, most of the multifamily development has been concentrated in urban counties like Miami-Dade, Orange, Hillsborough, and Broward. The shortage of affordable rental housing, especially for low-income individuals, continues to be a significant challenge for many Floridians.

In contrast to the rapid pace of multifamily construction, the state has seen much slower activity in the condominium sector, with only 6,791 new units added in 2023, a third of which were in Miami-Dade County.

This disparity underscores the challenges in addressing housing needs across all income levels and the complexity of providing affordable housing in a market still dealing with the aftereffects of soaring prices.

Key findings from the report

Affordability‍

Median home price reached $411,600 in 2024, and median rent was $1,555.

Construction trends‍

Florida produced 138,717 single-family homes in 2023. Multifamily development added 50,547 new apartments, and condo production lagged at 6,791 new units.

Income gap‍

The report revealed that many households, especially those making under 60% of the AMI, are spending more than 40% of their income on housing costs.

Originally reported by Brittany Sylvestri by UF news.