Miami-Dade County To Strengthen Resources To Ease Housing Crisis

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - As the housing crisis worsens, Miami-Dade County is investing $260 million towards the expansion of housing people can afford.

"We do have some legislation that incentivizes developers to provide mixed-income, mixed-use. We'll be holding a housing summit in the next couple of months, we'll be looking at all the range and solutions," Miami-Dade County Daniella Levine Cava said.

By the end of the year, Miami-Dade will have an estimated 14,000 units of affordable housing in development, which may not be enough.

"I would say about a 100,000 of an increase in our housing, and our rent, it was about $1,900 a month for the median house, and now this number has become $2,500," said FIU Professor of Economics Hakan Yilmazkuday.

Yilmazkuday looked at stats from 2019 in Miami Metro and compared it to what was reported at the end of 2021.

"In terms of the housing I think we've experienced about 20% in our housing rent in Miami, but with those respect to that 20% increase, if you look at the wage rate, it has only increased about 5-6%.

That's why so many are struggling.

"If you want to buy something by yourself and your income per year is 60,000 it's going to be very very impossible to buy a place unless you buy a condo, or a studio somewhere," Catherine Resek, a realtor with Keller Williams Realty.

As we've heard throughout this pandemic, inventory is low. CBS4 looked for single-family homes within the $350,000 to $425,000 price range. In certain areas it was just a handful. Out in Hollywood there were 17 active listings, just six in Kendall, and 18 in Homestead. These listings will likely be gone in a day. For this reason, she thinks more people will move further to commute to work in the metro area.

"We need better infrastructure in terms of public transportation," she said. "It's a contrast to what it was like before the pandemic when some larger homes were on the market for weeks, if not months. "Before the pandemic funny enough people were downsizing, tiny homes, I want a tiny home and a little walking area, and I'm good. Now it's the opposite, I want a home where I can have my home office, I can have my kids homeschooling, so all of a sudden your home is like your castle."

So, homeownership isn't impossible, it just depends however on what you can afford.

"Sometimes condos they look pretty attractive the prices $300,000 to 400,000 in a good location, but the maintenance fee may be $1,000, $800, so you need to take that into consideration, how much you're willing to pay every month," Resek added.

Without affordable housing, it could limit workforce prospects, and in the end, that could affect the economy.

"I think with the new housing crisis, I think everything is going to be on the table," Cava said.