Wages and the Cost of Housing in Florida

The Priced Out Report is interactive—you can tailor the information to your particular circumstances. So, for example, if you want to find out how much house a particular category of job can afford at 80% of the median sales price, you can change the default of median sales price to a number equal to 80% of median sales price. Likewise, you can adjust the mortgage interest rate, which defaults to 6.5%.

Please note the information in the Priced Out Report (just as in the Out of Reach Report) is based on a single earner household.

We expect this to be an invaluable educational tool for employers, housing administrators, housing advocates, policy makers, elected officials, developers, and the housing industry in general.

Start by selecting one of 18 metropolitan areas.
Select a metropolitan area:	Daytona BeachFort LauderdaleFort MyersFort PierceFort Walton BeachGainesvilleJacksonvilleMelbourneMiamiNaplesOcalaOrlandoPensacolaPunta GordaSarasotaTallahasseeTampaWest Palm Beach
Disclaimer The calculations used and results shown are for demonstration purposes only. Actual market interest rates and closing cost estimates may vary with lending institutions and geographical areas. View Sources and Assumptions

Wages and the Cost of Housing in Florida

Each year, the National Low Income Housing Coalition produces the Out of Reach Report. It calculates the “housing wage” – what someone must earn in order to afford the fair market rents within their area. In 2006 the “housing wage” in Florida for a two-bedroom apartment at Fair Market Rent (FMR) was $16.35 per hour. The Out of Reach Report is available through the Florida Housing Coalition’s website and this tool also provides you the “housing wage” broken down by counties.

In response to the need for complementary information related to homeownership, the Florida Housing Coalition has developed Florida’s Priced Out Report. This annual report provides salary information for over sixty different workforce categories, and allows you to calculate how much house they can afford to buy with that job in your particular area of Florida.

The Facts:

In 2002 the median family income in Florida was about $51,800 allowing that family to afford the median priced home of about $135,000. Between 2002 and 2006 the median priced home within the state of Florida increased 84% to about $248,000. However, median family incomes did not keep pace, rising only 8.4% over the same time period to about $56,131.

 

The Issue:

First time homebuyers, lacking home equity, are now unable to afford homes commensurate with their wages and need a larger amount of subsidy than they did three years ago to purchase the same home.

The Result:

Lacking the needed subsidy, members of the workforce are being “priced out” of the housing market causing a deficiency of key employees including teachers, nurses, law enforcement workers, emergency services providers, medical technologists, and hospitality industry employees.

Florida’s Priced Out Report

The Florida Housing Coalition presents wage information for more than 60 occupations for 18 Florida Metropolitan Areas.  The purpose of Florida’s Priced Out Report is to:

• Allow analysis of annual incomes for workforce employees within 18 Metropolitan Areas
• Calculate the maximum mortgage amount that workforce employees can afford based on market supported variables
• Compare how much down payment and closing cost assistance each workforce employee needs to afford a home in their community based on your inputted home price.  (The default is the median priced home in the Metropolitan Area)