Soaring Values Mean Many in Sarasota, Manatee Counties Priced Out of the Housing Market

Few workers make a six-figure income in Sarasota or Manatee County. Sadly, that’s what a buyer needs in order to afford a median-priced home in either place, according to today’s Bradenton Herald.

At least $109,248 a year must be earned to realistically afford a home at December’s median sales price of $322,700, the Florida Housing Coalition said in its Florida Priced Out Report, a report on home affordability in Southwest Florida. To illustrate how lofty that salary figure is, nary a one of the 63 local occupations the coalition studied - including teachers, firefighters and police officers - paid remotely close to that threshold.

“It’s just further proof that our work force is rapidly being priced out of the market with the way home prices are going,” said Michael Davis, the coalition’s executive director.

Based on the income requirement, the Manatee / Sarasota housing market was ranked fifth from the bottom in terms of affordability among the 18 metro areas the coalition studied in the Sunshine State. Only the Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, West Palm Beach and Naples housing markets had higher income requirements to meet the necessary Florida home mortgage loan requirements and buy a median-priced home.

At the opposite end of the housing spectrum, the Ocala, Tallahassee and Pensacola markets were rated the most affordable.

While the South Florida housing market has become overwhelmingly expensive for most, the situation was somewhat better for renters in Sarasota and Manatee, who had to earn about $21 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment at the market rate of $1,095 per month. That ranked as the region’s seventh least-affordable rental market, with some workers having to work more than 100 hours per week to afford it.

These results came as no surprise to affordable housing advocates.

“This report shows that all of our service personnel, our work force in general, is in trouble. They simply can’t find housing at prices they can get a mortgage for.” said Suzie Dobbs, the county’s affordable/work-force housing coordinator.

For example, an elementary school teacher making a decent salary of $44,199 a year would qualify for a Florida home loan of $131,255 at the most. That is about $191,000 short of what’s needed to close on a median-priced home.

Even construction managers, the region’s top-paying occupation, don’t make enough to be able to completely finance a median-priced home. As a result, a growing number of middle class workers are seeking financial help from various government programs to purchase a home.

Despite recent progress, affordable housing programs are being stretched by stagnant funding and escalating demand. The $1.7 million Manatee received from the state’s Housing Trust Fund was gone in just seven months, with no funds remaining for the rest of the fiscal year. That sum will grow to $2.3 million in the coming year, the maximum allowed under a state cap.

“There’s money sitting there that we can’t get to. We would get two to three times more money and be able to help even more people if the cap wasn’t there,” said Denise Thomas, the county’s housing and community development coordinator.