Copyright Newsweek
A quarter of Florida residents are "seriously" considering leaving the state because of the high cost of living, according to a new survey which found that an "affordability anxiety" has spread among those who call the Sunshine State their home. What Does the Poll Tell Us? The poll released on Monday by the Business and Economic Polling Initiative (BEPI) at Florida Atlantic University found that 42 percent of Florida residents do no longer believe that the "American Dream" holds true today, mainly because of how much more expensive their life has gotten. An overwhelming majority of 90 percent of respondents told researchers that they were at least somewhat worried about inflation, while 80 percent are concerned about housing affordability. Of the 1,000 Florida adults surveyed by BEPI between September 30 and October 10, 43 percent said they were living paycheck to paycheck, while 26 percent said they did so occasionally. Only 48 percent—slightly less than the majority—had an emergency fund covering at least three months of expenses. "For most Floridians, financial security feels one expense away from collapse," Monica Escaleras, Ph.D., chair of the department of economics and director of BEPI, said in a press release. "Many of those surveyed attributed the high cost of living to not being able to save more." Growing affordability concerns are behind why nearly 50 percent of Floridians said they have "somewhat" considered moving out of Florida. Another 26 percent said they had "seriously" considered leaving the state because of the high cost of living. By comparison, 25.7 percent were "not really" considering leaving the state, while 24.7 percent were not considering "at all." "The moving consideration rate is striking as it suggests that while Florida attracts new residents, many current ones feel squeezed enough to think about leaving," said Eric Levy, assistant director of FAU’s BEPI, in a press release. "An affordability anxiety shadows Florida’s boom economy: can residents afford to live here and provide for themselves?" Floridians Still Believe Homeownership Is a Key Part of the American Dream—but Fear They Can’t Afford It Housing prices in Florida rose by a whopping 51 percent between March 2020 and June 2022 alone, according to data shared by Forbes, as demand spiked in the state due to historically low borrowing costs unleashing a home-buying frenzy in the relatively affordable Sun Belt. Since then, the state has been experiencing a starker correction than the rest of the country due to a recent construction boom, which caused an explosion in inventory at the same time when demand was shrinking due to higher mortgage rates and ongoing affordability challenges. While home prices have flattened in the past couple of years in Florida, they remain much higher than they were in 2019. The median sale price of a typical home in the state in September was $404,600, according to Redfin, slightly below the national median of $435,331. Property taxes have also increased in step with home values, rising 2.6 percent in the last year alone. The Sunshine State ranks 30th in the country for property tax burden, according to research from the Tax Foundation. Lawmakers in the state are currently considering options to offer property tax relief to homeowners, while Governor Ron DeSantis is advocating for completely eliminating property taxes. Home insurance premiums have also soared in recent years in Florida as the state faced an exodus of private carriers scared off by widespread fraud, excessive litigation, and the increased threat posed by more severe and more frequent natural disasters. While lawmakers in Tallahassee have since passed sweeping tort reform that significantly curbed litigation in the state, homeowners in Florida still pay some of the highest home insurance premiums in the country. According to Bankrate, Floridians pay $5,761 every year for $300,000 in dwelling coverage. All these growing costs have turned the "Florida promise of sun, growth and upward mobility" sour for many residents, BEPI found. "Floridians believe in the ‘American Dream,’ but they are paying dearly for it," said Escaleras. "The Florida promise of sun, growth and upward mobility remains alive, but it is getting expensive to hold on to." A total of 77 percent of respondents told BEPI that homeownership was still part of the "American Dream," but a majority of 53.2 percent said they were not very confident or not confident at all to be able to buy a home in the current market. Many Floridians have already left because of the state’s rising housing costs. In late 2023, after at least two years of steady home price hikes in the state, reader Linda C. told Newsweek that she had sold her house in Palm Beach County to move to Pennsylvania, "and haven’t looked back." Linda, who had moved to Florida from New Jersey in 1983 and thought she "had died and gone to heaven," changed her mind when, a few years ago, she saw her home insurance not being renewed by her private carrier and had to move to Citizens, Florida-backed insurer of last resort. "I got tired of my homeowner’s insurance not being renewed and being moved to Citizens, the four point and wind mitigation inspections, not to mention the price increases every year," she said. "This, in addition to the worry about the ever increasing threat of more devastating hurricanes every year, got to be too much! Politics, in Florida, also added to my desire to get out," she added.
