Between controversial legislature, the dissolution of Disney’s Reedy Creek District, and a surge in tourism, Florida has been in the news a lot lately.
And, Florida’s housing crisis has also been gaining attention. Recently, both Universal and Disney have announced plans to build new affordable housing communities near Orlando, and now we’ve got some insight as to why these new residential areas may be more important in Florida than ever before.
According to ClickOrlando, Florida is now considered the least affordable state to live in the country. This is due to a low supply and high demand in affordable housing, which has caused rent in cities like Orlando, Tampa, and Miami to skyrocket.
And, out of all the cities within Florida, Orlando currently ranks second-worst in affordable housing according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, with the average rent in the city up 34% since 2019.
Orlando isn’t alone in rent increases. Miami and Tampa are also experiencing similar growth in both rent and rental burden. Rental burden is the percentage of one’s income that goes towards paying rent, and currently, Orlando is at 37%. Miami charts even higher at 59.5%, classifying it as a severe cost burden.
Both Universal and Disney’s affordable housing projects are still in the early stages with Universal planning to build a 1,000-unit mixed-income development with amenities for families living there and Disney looking to build more than 1,300 units in the new community.
The Universal community will be located near the new Epic Universe theme park and Disney’s will be located in southwest Orange County, Florida.
We’ll be looking for any new details and announcements about these affordable housing projects, and, in the meantime, keep following AllEars for more of the latest Orlando theme park news and updates!
Click HERE to learn more about Disney’s affordable housing project!
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What do you think about Disney and Universal’s new plans for affordable housing developments? Let us know in the comments.
I think it’s wonderful for those of us that are single and 61, and can’t afford rents or buying at this stage of our lives. Would love to live there again but I guess I’ll wait.