Numbers drive home scope of Central Florida’s housing crisis

Central Florida is facing a growing housing crisis as a shortage of new homes and surging demand is driving up the cost of home prices and rent, according to a two-year study of the issue that Orange County commissioners discussed Tuesday. The scope of the problem is evident in some key numbers.

■ 30%: Affordable housing is defined nationally and in Central Florida as housing costs (mortgage or rent plus utilities) that are equal to or less than 30 percent of a household’s total income. A household spending more than 30% of its income on housing (mortgage or rent plus utilities) is considered to be cost-burdened, according to the study. A household paying more than half its total income for housing is considered “severely cost-burdened.”

■ 230,344: The number of households considered to be cost-burdened in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties — roughly 1 of every 3 households.

■ $286,000: The average cost of

a house in Central Florida, according to data compiled from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2016).

■ $58,400: The regional median income in 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This number coupled with the average $286,000 cost of a house means a worker with a median salary will spend about 32 percent of income on housing. Among those who are “cost-burdened” are teachers, bus drivers, store cashiers and restaurant servers. The median household income in Orange County is lower, at $51,334, up from a decade low of $44,7322 in 2011. ■ 300: The size in square feet of “micro-apartments,” which include

a kitchenette, small bath and a bed alcove and have been suggested as a possible solution to the shortage of urban apartments.

■ 352,538: The number of households in Orange County, excluding Orlando. Using Census data, figures show 110,199 of those households overpay for housing.

■ 47: The percentage of households in Orange County that earn under $50,000. An estimated 17

percent earn less than $20,000 a year.

■ 69,769: The estimated number of households who rent housing in Orange County and pay over 30 percent of income.

■ 3,851: The size in square feet of the average home built in Orange County in 2017 — nearly double the size of a house built here in 1985. Single-family homes are larger and more expensive than before.

■ 95-97: The average occupancy of apartment complexes in Orange County, according to the Apartment Association of Greater Orlando.

■ 4-7%: The average annual growth in rent percentage from 2014 to 2018, according to the Apartment Association of Greater Orlando.