Rent and housing prices continue to rise across the nation, especially in Florida. This has raised questions about how and if Gen Z will be able to successfully support themselves if the housing market continues rising at the current rate.

Picture working a full-time job, saving your money and still not having enough to afford rent—let alone become a homeowner. To some, this may seem like a situation only faced by those who are poor, uneducated or simply not hard working enough, but for many Floridians and even more people across the nation, it is a scary reality stemming from an issue that grows worse by the year. UCF professors and staff recently protested on the campus and called for raises due to the affordable housing crisis.

The average rent price in the Orlando metro area has gone up 38% in the last few years and currently sits at around $2,000, that number rises to $2,400 for Oviedo specifically. The price of a home is around $400K, which is up 9.5% in just the last year. There are two main factors contributing to this increase in price, with the main factor being supply and demand—Florida has a rapidly growing population due to an influx of people coming from northern states. 

“We moved from New York and lived with my grandma until we could afford to rent our own place,” junior Ryan Morales said.

With a high demand for homes and a limited number of housing, prices go up because no matter what, someone is willing to pay. Another secondary factor stems from the housing crash of 2008.

“We’ve had a lot of investors, especially big investors, buy the homes. When they originally bought it, the idea was that at some point in time, they would be released to the market, [but] that hasn’t happened. It makes it difficult because the investors are holding the homes and the actual people who need to move have less homes to buy,” broker associate Tim Veigle said.

Housing prices will naturally go up due to inflation. However, an issue arises when the price of housing increases much faster than the pay of those needing homes. These issues are often seen as just statistics without thinking of the people who are currently being affected and those who will be affected in the future. If this pattern of increase continues much of the younger generation may struggle to leave home and find affordable housing. This will affect students who plan on attending college as well as those who plan to enter the workforce after graduation. Student debt was listed as one of the major obstacles stopping Gen Z from becoming homeowners. As rent increases alongside housing prices, students who don’t plan on attending college will also run into issues. 

“After high school I’m not planning on going to college, I’m planning on trying to save up and move out. It’s going to affect me personally because I’m going to be on my own and won’t have my parents to support me,” Morales said. “I find it crazy that if you don’t have a high paying job you can’t comfortably rent a home.”

While students worry about what the future may hold, older generations are currently facing the hardships of rising housing prices. Floridians who have been able to live at least semi-comfortably throughout their lives are now being harmed by increasing prices.   

“Our rent used to be $1,500–now you can’t find anything under $1,800. It’s 50 to 100 dollars for each person just for an application, and then if you put that money in and you don’t get the apartment you have to go and try again, that was just spending all our money. It was very stressful,” Ruth Mooring, a senior citizen who had difficulties finding housing, said.

A possible solution to the issue is government regulation that could hold off large investors from buying these homes.

“The best way to do it would be if there was some sort of legislation saying that big company investors can’t put in an offer on the house for the first 30 days. If there’s a delay it would help people buy homes,” Veigle said.

“A lot of the time in a free market when issues arise and consumers have issues, it’s because of over-regulation,” Veigle said.

If you are a property owner who has taken out a loan and the government caps what you can charge for rent, there could be a problem when you are paying more on the mortgage than you are making off of the rent.

Many students worry that with the increasing cost of housing, moving out will be a greater challenge than it was for previous generations. Some have already started the process of planning for the future.

“I’m saving up money to rent a townhouse or a small apartment with one other person, I switched to FLVS so I could have more time to work,” student Bogdan Madonici said, “I probably won’t stay in Florida though because of the high prices.”

All in all, the issue of affordable housing is incredibly complex and doesn’t have a simple solution. It’s a problem that millions of Americans struggle with and millions more will struggle with in the future.

“I’m planning on becoming a homeowner, I think it’s going to be way harder than it was for previous generations but if I manage my money correctly and put in enough work I think it’s possible,” Morales said.