Increasing Population Equals
Rising Real Estate Market

Ft Lauderdale Real Estate News 5/15/2024

The Nostradamus of Property Values?

Paul McCartney Predicts Latest Real Estate Trend in 1964

The United States Census Bureau has released Net Domestic Migration statistics tracking who is moving from where to where in the country, from state to state, from county to county. It's basically that old Beatles song: people are following the sun.

In addition, they are also following the taxes. To be more precise, they are fleeing high taxes and not surprisingly relocating to cities and states with lower taxes.

According to some statistics Florida is still the fastest growing state in the nation. Other stats indicate it might be Texas. Either way the Sunshine State's population continues to increase, leading the U.S. in percentage, going up 1.9% in 2022 and 1.6% in 2023, adding around 365,000 residents over the past couple years.

Some things have changed, however. Between 2019 and 2022 more people were relocating to the South Florida reporting area (Miami-Dade, Broward and Palms Beach counties) than any other Metro in the U.S.

Through the past year people moving into the Sunshine State flooded into less populous regions where suburbs around other cities expanded. In 2023 the main recipient of Net Domestic Migration was the state of Texas, with five of the Top 10 Counties around Houston, Dallas and Austin. Florida was second, however, with three of the Top 10: Polk County southwest of Orlando Number One, Pasco County north of Tampa, Number Three, and Marion County around Ocala Number Nine.

Where these folks are moving from is not much of a surprise. Residents are fleeing California; over 150,000 left Los Angeles and Orange County alone. Almost 150,000 left the New York City area, and just under 60,000 bailed out of Chicago.

In Florida 64 of its 67 counties grew in population. One of the three that declined was Miami-Dade, as residents apparently tired of its dense urban environment and grid-locked traffic.

Impact on Real Estate Prices

We shouldn't have to tell you the impact continued population growth has on property values. They aren't making any more land. Real Estate prices continue to increase throughout Florida.

The Median Sale Price of a Single Family Home in Florida has increased from $348,000 in 2021 to $410,000 in 2023, an increase of nearly 18% according to the latest statistics released from the Florida Association of Realtors, numbers that are compiled directly from figures generated by Realtor Associations across the entire state.

Through that same period, the Average Sale Price of a Single Family Home in Florida increased from $505,129 in 2021 to $562,442 in 2023, up over 11%.

In Fort Lauderdale's Broward County, the most desirable location in Florida, the Median Sale Price of a Single Family Home has increased 17%, from $470,000 in 2021 to $550,000 in 2023, while the Average Sale Price went up from $668,533 in 2021 to $763,768 in 2023, rising 14.2%.