Not enough homes to match Orlando's rapid population growth, experts say

Economists at the University of Central Florida believe there are not enough homes being built in Orlando to match its rapid growth."Inventories here in the Orlando region are extremely low, well below what we would call a balanced housing market," Sean Snaith said.Snaith is the director of UCF's Institute for Economic Forecasting. The institute recently released a 92-page report that says the housing market is slower to recover "These are growing pains. This is discomfort caused by economic growth," Snaith said.With fewer homes on the market, the available ones become more expensive. However, Snaith said builders will eventually catch up and be able to provide enough homes to stabilize the market, but he said no one knows whether that will take several years or even decades."One of the biggest challenges to affordable housing overall and even just development in general is neighborhood opposition to anything," Chip Tatum said.Tatum is on a county task force focused on creating solutions to the housing crisis. Tatum said local governments are starting to create incentives for developers to open up affordable home options."They're also doing things like looking at their building code overall, making it a little easier to navigate the planning process and doing some things on the back end to make it easier for a developer," Tatum said.An average of 1,500 people reportedly move to the Orlando area every week.

Economists at the University of Central Florida believe there are not enough homes being built in Orlando to match its rapid growth.

"Inventories here in the Orlando region are extremely low, well below what we would call a balanced housing market," Sean Snaith said.


Snaith is the director of UCF's Institute for Economic Forecasting. The institute recently released a 92-page report that says the housing market is slower to recover

"These are growing pains. This is discomfort caused by economic growth," Snaith said.

With fewer homes on the market, the available ones become more expensive. However, Snaith said builders will eventually catch up and be able to provide enough homes to stabilize the market, but he said no one knows whether that will take several years or even decades.

"One of the biggest challenges to affordable housing overall and even just development in general is neighborhood opposition to anything," Chip Tatum said.

Tatum is on a county task force focused on creating solutions to the housing crisis. Tatum said local governments are starting to create incentives for developers to open up affordable home options.

"They're also doing things like looking at their building code overall, making it a little easier to navigate the planning process and doing some things on the back end to make it easier for a developer," Tatum said.

An average of 1,500 people reportedly move to the Orlando area every week.