Affordable housing in Florida: Déjà vu, all over again

As the economy has recovered, affordable housing is again an issue in many parts of Florida

As home prices rose in the years before the Great Recession, complaints about a shortage of “workforce housing” became common in many communities throughout Florida. Those complaints are back again, with a vengeance. In most fast-growing areas of Florida — particularly in South Florida and Orlando — housing affordability for low- and moderate-income workers is a bigger issue than ever.

According to the Florida Policy Institute, 36% of Florida households are paying more than 30% of their incomes for housing, including mortgage or rent, utilities, taxes, insurance and neighborhood or condo association fees. Nearly 20% of Floridians are spending more than half of their incomes on housing.