Real estate professor weighs solutions to rising inflation in Florida

Last month, Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a new tax credit proposal that he claims will result in $2 billion in tax cuts.

But a new report from Apartment List found that Florida’s inflation rate was above the national average and hurt homebuyers and renters.

Eli Beracha is director of the School of Real Estate at Florida International University. He said it makes sense why cities in Florida could have inflation higher than the national average.

“A lot of money flows through the economy,” Beracha said. “A lot of money came here from different places, and this amount of money, coming here in large quantities in a short period of time, created inflation.”

Rent growth in Tampa is up 2.1 percent over the past year, according to the Apartment List’s March report. In Jacksonville it was 1.4 percent and in Orlando it was 1.9 percent. Cities such as Miami experienced a 6.4% rise in rent growth, while Tallahassee rose 6.6%.

Beracha believes this upward trend will not change as more people move to and stay in the Sunshine State.

Higher inflation in Florida is forcing politicians to consider different options.

Democrats have proposed potential rent caps. Beracha believes the policy is wrong.

“That might be a good slogan for a politician who might want to attract certain voters because it sounds like a service, oh we are going to lower the price of rent because it will be easier for us and it may bring relief in the short term, but in the long run, this is a disaster,” he explained.

The Republicans refused to rent baseball caps. Instead, they introduced a new group called Live Local. He is committed to the private sector creating more affordable housing options in Florida.

Beracha said Florida residents are bearing the brunt of soaring prices and struggling with a housing shortage. According to the professor, in 2007 the US had a surplus of 3 million homes. Today, the country is experiencing a housing shortage of 4 million, many of which are in Florida.

This has forced residents to move into smaller spaces, have roommates, downsize their homes, or even leave the state.