Florida is the least affordable place to live in the U.S.

Sally Starkey thought moving from Chicago to Florida would be easy. The 33-year-old publicist moved to Naples, Florida, when her husband got a close job. Known to the area of ​​friends and family who went on vacation, the couple was excited to move, she said.

“We thought we would have no problem finding a place to live,” Starkey said.

She was wrong. The couple consulted two dozen apartments before agreeing to rent a semi-detached house north of Naples, unseen. “It took us two weeks before we left our Chicago apartment,” Starkey said.

Meanwhile, at $ 3,500, the rent for their two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse is about 20 percent more than they paid in Chicago, though she’s considered lucky considering the alternatives. “I’m telling you, we were lucky,” he said.

The couple’s experience encapsulates several key housing trends that are being combined to make it harder, and more expensive, for Americans to put a roof over their heads. Most importantly, rents and house prices are skyrocketing in recent years, increasing the financial burden of millions of middle-class, working-class households already struggling to afford a place to live. A shocking inflation attack, following the economic spasm caused by the pandemic, adds to these pressures.

Rentals, which are increasing in double digits nationwide, they are rising positively for Florida, fueled by an increase in people who moved to the state during the pandemic. Florida’s population is growing faster than any state except Texas: between 2020 and 2021, 300,000 people moved to the state of the sun.

In February, Realtor.com designated Miami as the least affordable place to live in America. The average monthly rent in the metropolitan area, $ 2,930, is the same as in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and twice the level considered affordable for people in the region considering the average local income. Miami, Orlando and Tampa have the fastest growing rents in the country in the last year.

"These Sun Belt markets, particularly Florida, have topped our list for the past two months," said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com.

Florida's housing problems have been worsening for years, and the state is enjoying strong population growth while courting new residents and businesses attracted by low taxes and an anti-regulation agenda.

Florida policymakers have tried to diversify the tourism economy with new jobs in banking, technology, life sciences and logistics, said John Boyd, director of Boyd Co., a job selection company in Boca Raton. Florida. For individuals, the lack of personal income tax and relatively low property taxes are combined with sunny weather to make the state an attractive destination for well-paid professionals.

"For tech workers who emigrate from San Francisco, New York, Chicago, being able to save thousands of dollars each year is still a compelling engine ... to relocate," Boyd said.

A number of recent high-profile corporate moves in Florida, including Goldman Sachs, Elliott Management and Virtu Financial, have raised Florida's profile, while the pandemic shift to remote work has driven relocations, Boyd said. . The level of inquiries your company receives from companies interested in moving to the state has multiplied tenfold compared to before the pandemic.

"According to our customers, this hybrid model is here to stay."

Good job if you can get it

Realtor.com data shows that much of the demand for housing in Florida comes from outside the state. One-fifth of Miami real estate searches come from the New York City area; another 8% of Washington, DC Washington and New York account for 15% of Tampa housing demand.

In fact, historically high prices by Florida standards may not deter anyone fleeing even New York or the Bay Area, Boyd said.

"For deep-pocket executives, they're playing with the money in the house because there are still deals in Palm Beach County and Broward and Miami-Dade County, compared to the prices in the Bay Area." Boyd pointed out. "People are outpacing Broward County and Palm Beach County homes by millions of dollars. It's a common occurrence."

Jacqueline Fisch, a 41-year-old public relations executive, was able to take advantage of the pandemic's flight to the suburbs in her favor when she moved from downtown New Jersey to Tampa last year.

Fisch had moved to New Jersey in 2020 to be close to her husband's work in Manhattan, but that summer they were both working remotely and their two children were going to school from home. On a Christmas vacation in Florida, the family had a revelation.

"On the third day, it was 75 degrees and we said, 'Wait, we can live here,'" Fisch said. They began planning their transfer on the return flight.

In January, the family home in New Jersey was under contract for $ 200,000 more than they had paid for it. They put the profits on a property still under construction in North Tampa that cost about $ 450,000, moved in to buy the house with only the foundations laid, and outperformed three other potential bidders. They moved in September.

"Our mortgage payments went from $ 4,000 to $ 1,500," Fisch told CBS MoneyWatch. "The only thing that's more expensive here is car insurance."

He said he doesn't like traffic, but appreciates everything else: "Beaches, golf, kayaking: being able to be outdoors, being comfortable outside, most of the time."

"I'm leaving as soon as I can"

While Florida is becoming more and more attractive as a place to live for many Americans, the influx is squeezing many longtime residents, especially low-wage service workers and older residents. fixed income. The state explicitly prohibits rent control, which could put a limit on rent increases.

Michele DeMoske-Weiss, a retired nurse who lives on a fixed income, is ready for bail after 30 years living in the state.

“The first 15 years are great, it feels like you’re on vacation, and then for the second 15 it’s miserable,” he said of living in Florida.

DeMoske-Weiss, 70, recently downsized when her landlord wanted to increase Lake Park's two-bedroom rent to $ 2,400 a month. He moved to a lower-floor room to keep his rent at $ 2,200 more manageable. She is now considering moving to Washington State or Pennsylvania to be close to her children.

"I'm leaving as soon as I can," he said.

For others, including low-wage tourism workers in the state, leaving is more difficult. Many working-class families in South Florida have protested rent increases that they say could put them on the street.

“It seems like a greedy, greedy moment,” said Mike Wootan, renting his Miami apartment rises nearly $ 500 a month to $ 3.00 in June. Wootan, 29, runs a cannabis business. The year he has lived there with his girlfriend, Wootan has been unable to use the resort's balcony or pool due to renovations, and the increase seems to "add insult to injury," he told CBS MoneyWatch. "I've been thinking about it almost every day."

However, Wootan and his girlfriend decided to live on the increase instead of spending money on a move, which would also cost them days of work. He has been thinking more about buying a home, but said it is financially out of reach.

“I’m getting to the point where I’m very fed up and tired of renting, and I don’t think it’s a good time [to buy]"It looks like we're on the cusp of another bubble bursting."

Although the housing sector is recovering, the nation is facing a deficit of 1.3 million homes due to the fall in construction activity during the pandemic. This deficit, combined with investment firms competing with households for start-up homes, means it could be years before market forces allow income and rents to be readjusted.

Meanwhile, with rents and home values ​​rising at a breakneck pace, it is making it much harder for tenants to even consider buying a home.

“It’s a challenge in today’s marketplace because we have such a limited supply of housing, whether we’re talking about homes for sale or rent, and higher prices are hindering the transition to ownership,” said Hale of Realtor. how. .

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