TAMPA, Fla. — Jones Home Team real estate agent Melissa Davis has spent more than a decade helping others lay roots and build on their dreams.

“We don’t have a lot of lower price points condos being built,” Davis said. “There’s not a lot of affordable housing being built.“

Davis says it is increasingly challenging to avoid being priced out.

Tampa is ranked 18th in the United States for rental affordability, according to the rental index by Waller, Weeks, and Johnson. To be able to comfortably afford the average rent of $2,100 a month, an individual would need to earn at least $85,000 annually.

“Our wages don’t afford people to live here,” Davis said. “There are not a lot of positions that pay more than $15 an hour, let alone $50.”

People are considered “rent burdened” if they spend more than 30% of their annual income on rent, according to  U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) guidelines. Those who spend more than 50% of their income on rent are classified as “severely rent burdened.”

Callen Jones is the CEO of the Jones Home Team Real Estate and says rent continues to increase but not wages.

“In order not to be rent burdened, your rent should not be more than 30% of what you make,” Jones said.  “That’s why a lot of landlords use that three times (the monthly rent). So if your rent is 30% of what you make and your other bills are 30% of what you make, most people don’t make that much. You need to be making $25 to $30 an hour.”

The average income for the Tampa-St. Petersburg market is $57,500, according to a Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics report.

“You need to make three times the monthly rent, but there are also background checks, credit checks that are being run, down payment that is needed," Jones said. "There are a lot of upfront costs as well, so it’s just the carrying costs of the rental, but it’s all of the fees upfront. Given the housing shortage we have, you’re also competing with a lot of people.”

Davis says that the competition has become more intense since remote work became popular during the pandemic.

“We do have a lot of people who are coming from out-of-state. They may be living in the Tampa Bay area, but they are getting paid as if they live in New York City and paying them money as if they live in New York City,” she said.

According to estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 320,000 Americans moved into Florida between 2021 and 2022.

Davis says the affordable housing crisis is impacting the tourism workforce which makes the local economy run.

“St. Pete and all of the beach communities, that is what we thrive on,” Davis said. “That is our tax base. What happens when we don’t have employees to fill those?”

She says these employees are hanging on and making it work in different ways.

“We [have] people who maybe are getting additional roommates,” Davis said. “They’re getting creative with living situations because they cannot afford to work and live.”

Even those who appear to have enough money are receiving less value for their dollar, according to Davis.

“What people think they will be going to get for $2,800 a month is not what they are getting,” she said. “What you are actually getting for what you are paying, is not an enlightenment for a lot of people.”

It is expected that the competition for housing will remain intense, along with the competition for higher paying jobs to afford the rent.