Fla.’s Affordable Housing Fund to Surge in 2023
The Florida Housing Coalition expects the state’s affordable housing trust fund to have $403M in it next year – a notable increase from this year’s $360M.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Housing Coalition CEO Jaimie Ross expects to see a major boost next year to the Sadowski Housing Trust Fund, which has been used to fund affordable housing efforts statewide since 1992.
The funds could potentially total $403 million in 2023-2024, up from $360 million in 2022-2023 – a $43 million increase – Ross said during the Nov. 17 Housing for All Lake County Forum in Clermont.
The Sadowski Affordable Housing Act directs 24.17% of collected document stamp tax money on real estate sales to be used for affordable housing, minus state administrative costs. Last year, however, the state reduced the amount of document stamp tax money allocated to affordable housing by 50%, though the state tapped the money at other times in the past, notably during economic slowdowns when general tax revenue fell.
The funds for 2023-2024 will be determined by the Florida Legislature convenes on March 7, 2023.
Due in part to a large influx of new residents during the pandemic, most Florida metro areas have an affordable housing shortage.
Among metro Orlando’s population that earns 50% or less of the area’s median income, for example, the National Low Income Housing Coalition reports an existing 78,225-unit shortage of affordable housing. Meanwhile the median monthly two-bedroom apartment rent in metro Orlando increased by 6.5% year-over-year in October to $1,652, the highest increase among all Florida metros, according to ApartmentList. The metro’s October median home sale price of $365,000 was up 12% compared to the previous year, data from the Orlando Regional Realtor Association reveals.
On the positive side, the American Rescue Plan Act distributed millions of federal dollars to Central Florida municipalities in the last two years to fund affordable housing projects and rental assistance, Florida Housing Coalition Technical Advisor Tamara West says.
“We don’t know if we’ll ever see this opportunity again,” she adds.
Source: Orlando Business Journal (11/22/22) Soderstrom, Alex
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