Residential rents in Florida continue to rise even though costs dropping in other states, new report finds
MIAMI -- Renters in the state of Florida saw a double-digit increase in the amount they pay every month to lease a home even though rental costs are dropping in other states, according to a new report released Friday.
The findings by Rent.com, an online site that says it was created to "simplify the experience of connecting people and properties," show that Florida's monthly home leasing costs are rising despite a nationwide trend of declining rents.
Renters in the Miami metro area saw a 23.2 percent in rental costs this year over last year, according to the report, which cited steep rents in other Florida areas that include Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Tampa, North Port-Bradenton, Orlando and Deltona-Daytona Beach.
The organization said the rent hikes in the Sunshine State have resulted from a shortage of raw materials that have resulted from recent natural disasters.
"It most likely will be harder than ever to acquire materials and labor at reasonable prices, which will definitely exacerbate rental issues in this area of the state," Shelton Weeks, a real estate expert at Florida Gulf Coast University told a local TV station.
The report's authors said they compared rent prices across bedroom types to determine which of the country's largest metros areas were becoming more affordable or more expensive for renters.
The group said it analyzed rental property prices in October 2022 from Rent's available inventory to identify a median rent price at the national, state and metro level.
The group also found that:
- The median national rent dipped below the $2,000 mark for the first time in six months, after peaking at $2,053 in August 2022.
- Oklahoma City saw the largest year-over-year increase in rents at 31.7 percent of the 50 metro areas analyzed by the group.
- October rent prices are down month-over-month, a two-month trend that provides further evidence the market is stabilizing.
- Only four states reported a drop in residential rental costs this year over last year: Massachusetts, Nevada, Wisconsin and Idaho.
