This story has been updated to correct a photo caption.
About 60% of renters in the Sarasota, Bradenton and North Port metro area spend more than financial experts recommend, with a recent report from a national apartment research company ranking it as one of the most cost-burdened locations in the country.
According to a report released by Apartment List, 29% of the renters in Sarasota and Manatee counties spend more than 50% of their income on rent, with another 31% spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs.
Financial advisors typically recommend that people spend no more than 30% of their income on housing costs to allow for appropriate retirement investments and savings.
Increasing rents that have placed affordability concerns increasingly in the national spotlight with these concerns unfortunately are not uncommon, as an estimated 22 million Americans pay more than 30% of their income on housing costs, according to the report.
Florida led the way with all five of the metro areas with the highest share of cost-burdened renters located in the Sunshine State, leading Apartment List to declare Florida as "the epicenter of the cost-burden crisis" in housing.
The Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area had the largest share of cost-burdened renters in the country with 67% of renters paying more than 30%. Miami ranked second with 65%, Tampa third with 61% and Orlando fourth with 61%.
Sarasota, Bradenton and North Port see skyrocketing rents
Since 2019, rents in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metro have increased by 44%, among the largest increases in the country, while incomes have increased by 28%, according to Apartment List data.
"Since 2019, rents have grown faster than renter incomes in 82 of the nation’s 100 largest metros," the report said. "The markets with the widest gaps are those that have seen the most extreme worsening of rent burden rates."
Renters seeking to make the jump to home ownership also face high costs as mortgage rates remain high, even as the most recent report from the Sarasota-Manatee Realtor's association describes a decelerating market.
Despite some moderation in the housing market the median price to buy a home in the two-county area came in at $483,843 in October, according to the most recent market report from the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee.
In October, the area was impacted by two hurricanes that could impact housing sales. There were fewer closed sales and significantly more properties on the market compared with the same period in 2023, according to statistics maintained by RASM.