Staff Reports
The Florida Apartment Association is launching a new website to provide residents and policymakers reliable information on rental housing needs in their communities.
BuildFlorida2030.com tracks Florida’s rapidly growing housing requirements, reviews a range of key demographic indicators, and compares those indicators statewide and by county and metro area.
Between 2010 and 2020 Florida’s population grew by 15%, or about 2.7 million people, ranking second overall, after Texas. Every county in the state of Florida is projected to grow, some by more than 40%. Based on Florida’s current growth trajectory, more than 570,000 apartment homes must be built by 2030.
“As Floridians, we all know our state is growing and the need for housing is great,” said Chip Tatum, Executive Vice President of Florida Apartment Association. “FAA embarked on this study to identify the unique housing needs in each county and metro area across the state.
“We encourage state and local elected leaders to review this timely and important data as they craft and revisit land use and housing policies. Doing so will ensure they are equipped to meet the current and future demand for housing in their communities and the Sunshine State.”
Some key takeaways from the study:
—Between 2020 and the first quarter of 2022, construction costs increased more than 40%, far outpacing the 11.8% rate of inflation over the same period.
—Florida’s population is expected to grow by 3.2 million by 2030, with Sumter and Osceola counties each growing by more than 40%.
—On average, renters account for one in three Florida households. In Miami-Dade County rental households account for 48.4% and in Leon County that total is 47.4%.
—Florida’s multifamily housing construction lagged over the last decade. Between 2010 and 2019, Florida only built 950,000 new units, compared with 1.62 million in the 2000s and 1.26 million in the 1990s. Therefore, a record-breaking number of apartment homes will need to be built during the 2020s to keep up with demand.
—Land use policies prevent new housing from coming to market by drastically limiting the number of homes that can be built. On average, just 7% of the land across the state of Florida is zoned for multifamily residential use.
BuildFlorida2030.com was developed by the Florida Apartment Association in partnership with HR&A Advisors.
