Since 2017, buying a home in Tallahassee has become harder as housing prices have risen much faster than household earnings. Median home values are up 59%, while median household income has increased about 35%.
Here's what to know
Using census figures and the City of Tallahassee's Year in Review report, WTXL said median household income in the capital city went from around $42,000 in 2017 to about $57,000 in 2024. During the same stretch, the median value of an owner-occupied home rose from roughly $185,000 to about $294,000.
According to WTXL, the city's report says Tallahassee's economy has expanded by 25% since 2017, bringing more jobs and higher pay.
Still, income growth has lagged behind rising housing prices. Over seven years, median household income rose by roughly $15,000, while median home values climbed by more than $100,000.
According to Christic Henry, a realtor with Kingdom First Realty, higher interest rates are adding another obstacle for would-be buyers. "If I'm purchasing a house at 3.2% as opposed to 6%, I can afford more house at 3.2% than I can at 6%. So that's the differentiation."
The city counted more than 2,300 multifamily units and 700 single-family units as having been reviewed, built, or completed.
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More background
Henry said the affordability strain now extends beyond the groups traditionally associated with affordable housing and is affecting workers across Tallahassee.
Henry said, "It used to be a time where people understood that affordable housing was for this bracket of neighbors, this income bracket of neighbors. Now, affordability is for everybody. It's for the working class all the way down to the drive-thru worker."
That shift changes the day-to-day math for households trying to move from renting to owning. Even as Tallahassee adds jobs and posts stronger economic numbers, buyers face higher home prices and interest rates that reduce how much they can afford to finance.
The city said 374 affordable housing units moved into permitting or completion status, the outlet reported. But units in review or permitting are not the same as homes immediately available to families trying to buy or rent at a lower cost.
Where can I learn more?
Tallahassee's affordability squeeze is playing out in other Florida markets and across the country, too.
• A Harvard analysis found the median home now demands about $120,000 in household income nationwide.
• In Miami, cash buyers are snapping up higher-ground Black neighborhoods as coastal flooding worsens.
• Major cities are turning empty office space into apartments to ease housing shortages.
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