Industry experts at this week’s Prosperity Forum 2022 warned the business community of Tallahassee’s high-cost housing market and the dangers ahead if nothing is done about it.
The forum sponsored by the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce highlighted Tallahassee’s affordable housing crisis and its impact on renters, landlords and buyers.
For example, the average rent for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in northeast Tallahassee costs $2,250 per month; $1,912 per month in Northwest Tallahassee; $1,625 per month in Southeast Tallahassee, $1,450 per month in Southwest Tallahassee.
Census data shows Tallahassee’s median income from 2016 to 2020 was around $46,460. With a poverty rate of 25.2%, one in four inhabitants lives in poverty.
“The data right now really tells us a very important story about the crisis we find ourselves in,” said Sha’Ron James, a government affairs consultant and attorney at law firm Gunster, who chairs the community committee. and prosperity of the House.
Another problem: Landlords choose not to rent properties to tenants and instead turn them into Airbnb rentals.
Many landlords allowed tenants to live rent-free or were prohibited from evicting them during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Christic Henry, chief broker and realtor at Kingdom First Realty in Tallahassee.
“It’s your real competition for affordable housing and economic opportunity,” Henry said. “These people are trying to pay their mortgage, and it’s a real conversation.”
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A ‘crazy’ market with little respite in sight for buyers
For home buyers, the Northeast continues to be a real estate hotspot.
Although southeast subdivisions like Wilson Green and Crawfordville Trace are experiencing noticeable resale fluctuations, Henry said.
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Tallahassee’s affordable housing problem comes down to a lack of inventory to meet the high demand.
The trend, with little relief in sight, will only continue as Leon County’s population growth is expected to increase, Henry said.
In general, she said, this environment produces listings that are already coming to market under contract. Or homeowners get knocked on their door by impatient buyers, hoping for a property score.
“It’s crazy,” Henry said.
A goal to relieve the “expensive”
Forum speakers and others highlighted the need to create more jobs in Tallahassee that pay living wages to enable residents to pay rent or buy a home.
Berneice Cox, president and CEO of United Way of the Big Bend, said a $200,000 home is considered affordable, but many local residents cannot afford it.
More community and collaborative partners, she said, will help ease the housing crisis.
“If you have bankers in the room who can actually lend money, you have developers, you have owners, and you have nonprofits, you have the opportunity to have good discussions,” Cox said. “More importantly, what are the action items after the discussion.”
Ashon Nesbitt, program manager at the Florida Housing Coalition, said the Florida Chamber of Commerce has a housing goal in its Florida Blueprint 2030 plan to reduce cost-burdened households to no more than 10% by 2030.
Cost-burdened households refer to a household that spends more than 30% of its income on housing costs, including utilities. The heavy cost burden applies to a household where more than 50% of its income is spent on housing costs.
The main causes of cost-burdened housing expenses include the lack of living wages and rising housing costs. Renters and residents earning 50% AMI (regional median income) or less are the most affected.
A Potential Solution: Opportunity Zones
Nesbitt said business and leadership can change the course of Tallahassee’s housing crisis.
He suggested approaches to consider that started with understanding the housing needs of a company’s workforce. Other options to consider included housing-matched labor training, employer-supported housing programs, matched savings and purchase assistance, and rent deposits.
Opportunity Zones, the federal version of Community Redevelopment Agency districts, can also offer an attractive investment lure for those with capital gains who are looking to buy, develop and redevelop properties that could be transformed into affordable housing.
In 2020, Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law House Bill 1339 which authorizes the use of labeled lots or properties for commercial, industrial, or residential zoning for affordable housing.
This is a potential game-changer in creating more affordable housing, Nesbit explained.
For example, someone realizing a capital gain on the sale of real estate can take that gain, invest it in an Opportunity Zone fund, and not have to pay tax on that gain for 10 years.
“So this is a good opportunity for those of us who have done well to invest and give back to our community,” he said.
Contact TaMaryn Waters at [email protected] or follow @TaMarynWaters on Twitter.
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Leon County Housing by quadrants, housing snapshots
Quadrant data is based on home sales from December to May for sales of three-bedroom, two-bathroom homes.
Northeast
Residential type: New construction, homes built in 2020 or newer
- Average selling price: $463,258
- Median sale price: $410,000
- Average day on market: 22
- Median home size: 1873 square feet
Type of residence: Resale, homes built in 2016 or before
- Average sale price: $413,186
- Median sale price: $365,000
- Average day on market: 22
- Median home size: 1355 square feet
- Average age: 1981
North West
Residential type: New construction, homes built in 2020 or newer
- Average sale price: $269,000
- Days on market: 2 (median) 52 (mean)
- Median home size: 1670 square feet
Type of residence: Resale, homes built in 2016 or before
- Average sale price: $260,195
- Average day on market: 22
- Median home size: 1351 square feet
- Average price per square foot: $132.95
South East
Residential type: New construction, homes built in 2020 or newer
- Average selling price: $504,445
- Average day on market: 73
- Median home size: 2320 square feet
Type of residence: Resale, homes built in 2016 or before
- Average selling price: $200,281
- Average day on market: 23
- Median home size: 1378 square feet
South West
Residential type: New construction, homes built in 2020 or newer
- Average sale price: $230,666
- Average day on market: 34
- Median home size: 1281 square feet
- Median price per SF: $139.34
Type of residence: Resale, homes built in 2016 or before
- Average sale price: $208,050
- Average day on market: 32
- Average home size: 1483 square feet
- Average price per SF: $139.34
Leon Rental Market Summary
Average rent based on a list of two bedrooms and two bathrooms per quadrant:
- Northeast: $2,250 per month
- Northwest: $1,912 per month
- Southeast: $1,625 per month
- Southwest: $1,450 per month
Source: Kingdom First Realty/Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce
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