The Politics of Home Ownership in Florida
Home affordability is a huge problem in Florida and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it become the deciding electoral issue in the near future.
Most data sources report that home prices in Florida rose between 35% and 43% from 2021-2023. Wages in that same timeframe rose little more than 10%. Florida also now leads the nation in rent burden reporting in 2025 with more than 30% of renters spending over half of their income on housing.
It’s simple supply and demand. Miami has the tightest rental market in the nation with 21 applicants for every single listing. That’s a lot of upward pressure on home prices
There is admittedly a nation-wide shortage of on-market homes, but the disparity between economic growth and home affordability is sharpest in Florida for a few unique reasons: state leaders have prioritized attracting the “golden goose” of high-wage jobs over education and infrastructure needs for decades. Companies that offer high-wage jobs plant in Florida with lavish incentives, but the state’s workforce, shaped largely by a considerably lower-wage tourism industry, is not qualified for those jobs. This brings an influx of high-skilled talent from everywhere but Florida.
Local high school grads have been set up for failure against incoming homebuyers in an under-supplied market. Florida politicians are going to be blindsided by how sharp of an issue that is. Talking about ending property taxes is great if you are a homeowner, but it will not purchase with the incoming electorate.
It should not be too much to ask that corporations setting up shop in Florida be required to invest in the local community and train their workforce here, especially when we are providing economic incentives to attract them. We are essentially paying them to outsource the wealth they generate in our economy and price native Floridians out of their home state.
It is going to be a difficult situation to fix, but we can start by fixing the economic incentives. Florida jobs should go to Florida high school graduates.