Report: Rent in Kissimmee has increased 11 percent in a year

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  • Osceola County purchased land that became Cameron Preserve, an affordable housing complex, in 2019. Others have opened and been gobbled up by the many residents who need a place that matches their income. SUBMITTED PHOTO
    Osceola County purchased land that became Cameron Preserve, an affordable housing complex, in 2019. Others have opened and been gobbled up by the many residents who need a place that matches their income. SUBMITTED PHOTO
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For all the things that make Osceola County a wonderful place to live, it takes a lot to have … a place to live.

Affordable housing — the lack of it — has been a front-burner issue for local officials, but the housing market may be outpacing those efforts.

Fueled by a lack of available properties to purchase, the median price of a home in the area has flown past $300,000.

Renting isn’t a solution, as median rents are also rising at the same rate, as featured in the July report from ApartmentList.com.

Their report shows rents in Kissimmee increased by 3.7 percent in June, compared to a national increase of 2.3 percent.

Rent prices in Kissimmee are currently 11.1 percent higher than they were one year ago, and 7.5 percent higher than they were in March 2020, right before the start of the pandemic.

Median rents in Kissimmee currently stand at $1,128 for a 1-bedroom apartment and $1,374 for a two-bedroom.

According to the stats from the newest National Low Income Coalition Out of Reach report and those locally from Osceola County’s Hope Partnership, in order to afford that two-bedroom apartment, a worker needs to make $25.40 an hour. Reports also show that the Orlando area’s median hourly wage is $17.59 (ranking 50th out of 50 metropolitan areas studied). A minimum wage worker at $8.65 per hour needs a 93-hour work week to afford that one-bedroom apartment.

At the same time, the Legislature-backed Sadowski fund, created to fund low-income housing, keeps getting swept into for other projects. The Legislature had said in early 2020 that it wouldn’t be dipped into again — and then the pandemic struck.

Rev. Mary Downey, CEO and founder of the Hope Partnership, which works tirelessly to alleviate housing and other poverty issues, calls the situation “an uphill battle.”

“It seems no one is prioritizing affordable housing while there is little to no incentive for businesses to raise wages so nearly half of our workforce can’t afford to live here,” she said. “We see it day in and day out, with families who are working but unable to live anywhere but a hotel. The eviction moratorium is in its final days and I fear we will have more families living on our streets, in hotels and in vehicles since they can’t find a stable home.”

When County Commissioner Viviana Janer took office in 2014, providing more affordable housing across Osceola was high on her priority list. Due to need, it stays there.

Cameron Preserve, an affordable housing development, opened 100 units in 2019 and 80 more were just approved for construction earlier this year. Gannet Pointe, east of Kissimmee, also opened — and quickly filled — 100 units, and the county spent $8.9 million to buy land adjacent to the Poinciana Sunrail terminal, with plans to build another 400 units of affordable housing.

They can’t come soon enough, Janer said.

“It’s a nationwide problem, not just here but we’ve amplified it,” she said. “Affordable housing isn’t a dirty term. Developers want to build viable projects, and we need the partnerships at the county and state level to encourage them.

“Without a doubt the improvement over the last five years is phenomenal, and we’re not done.”