ORLANDO, Fla. – A new study from real estate website Zillow found the average home in the Orlando market made more money than a typical worker earns in a year.
According to the study, home value appreciation in 2021 was higher than median incomes in 25 of 38 major metropolitan areas, including Orlando.
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Jeff Tucker, a senior economist with Zillow, said the high housing demand in the Orlando market is giving a new meaning to the term “household income.”
“We’ve never seen something quite like that before in looking back at our historical data,” Tucker said.
Tucker said the study found last year the average home in the Orlando market, which covers Orange, Osceola, Lake, and Seminoles counties, made $20,000 more than the typical worker earned in a year.
“Those numbers were about a $64,000 increase in home value against about $44,000 for someone working full-time all year long,” he said.
According to Zillow’s study, that difference is what a set and exhibit designer makes on average a year. Tucker said the reason we’re seeing the huge gap in home value and median income comes down to supply and demand.
“There are not enough homes to go around for all people who want them, particularly in a very high-demand market like Florida and Orlando in particular,” Tucker said. “As long as that is the case and as long as builders are having trouble keeping up with that demand it kinda keeps the pedal to the metal when it comes to price appreciation.”
As home prices skyrocketed, Tucker said Florida leads the nation in rising rent rates. The top three metro areas with the fastest rising rent rates last year were Miami, Orlando, and Tampa.
The study found a 1-year lease in Orlando cost $4,300 more at the end of 2021 compared to the start of the year. Tucker said he anticipates home prices and rent rates won’t really drop, but they will eventually slow down toward the end of the year.
“It won’t be getting more unaffordable quite as quickly as it has been,” he said.