JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Rent prices in the state of Florida are amongst the highest in the country..
In Jacksonville, the price per square foot for a single family home is $183, a 24% increase from last year, according to the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors.
The high prices are turning the housing market into a battleground to find affordable rental properties.
“It got to a point where people where bidding, you know, the rent’s $1,300, but I got somebody that is willing to pay $1,500, how much will you pay?" Brandon Cumbo, a Jacksonville renter, said.
The average rent for a one bedroom rental is currently $1,211, a 27% increase from last year, according to the website Zumper.
Some renters are seeing hundreds added at lease renewals.
“I signed a two-year lease so it wouldn’t go up anymore in the second year. They promised me no more than a 5% increase, so I’m fine with that," Cumbo said. "But I mean it’s really, its’ getting pretty bad out there."
Rental property brooker Blakley Hughes says there are a handful of reasons behind the increase.
“There’s a labor crunch, along with inflation and repair expenses just have jumped significantly over the last year," Hughes said.
The population growth in Jacksonville is bringing more renters and COVID continues to impact labor and supply chains.
Heading into 2022, Hughes expects prices to remain high.
“As builders began to catch up and things return to normal and the inventory hopefully normalizes, I think you’re going to see a stabilization of rent in the later part of 2022," Hughes said.