“A historic $711 million will go towards affordable housing in Florida under a bill signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis Wednesday.”
One of the charges thrown at Governor DeSantis by his opponents is rising cost of housing in Florida. Even though Florida housing prices are a bargain compared to my former home state of California, the cost of housing (both rent and purchase), indeed, has been steadily rising over last two years because of influx of wealthy people from California and New York.
Not so long ago, California had a very similar problem. Being an extremely attractive place to live, it became completely unaffordable. For a decade, high tech companies of Silicon Valley over hired people and paid them inflated salaries, creating unhealthy housing bubble. It became essentially impossible for a middle-class family to afford a house in Bay Area. Younger families were forced deep into East Bay, making their daily commute 3 hours long. But now, quality of life there does not justify the price of admission, so people are moving out, making housing market in other states more competitive.
In reality, there is very little the government can do to address supply and demand issue in the real estate market. They can’t impose price controls, or magically produce more apartments to fill the growing demand for rentals. Florida population have been growing a lot faster than housing availability, and hence, the demand far outpaced the supply, driving prices up.
Last year, Governor DeSantis introduced Hometown Heroes program. That program provided down payment and closing cost assistance for first responders, educators, and medical professionals to help them buy their first home. Yesterday, the Governor signed the law to expand that program, and additionally, invest money into new affordable housing projects.
Even though living in Florida has been amazing, it pains me that young families have tougher time affording a home, partially because of people like me moving into the state and driving prices up. Buying your first home is a huge undertaking that may put a strain on family budget, depriving children of much needed activities and fun adventures.
Me and my husband struggled to afford our first little house as a young family in the unaffordable Bay Area. Over the years, however, I learned to navigate the real estate market. Designing and renovating houses became my passion, and I am looking forward to creating more welcoming homes for my fellow Floridians.
Satinleaf Properties 