Miami-Dade has become the most expensive metro in the U.S. for renters and one of the costliest for home buyers, the Miami Herald reports. An in-depth analysis pins the blame on stagnant real wages, housing prices hypercharged by rising demand, foreign investors and a tight supply of affordable housing. Recent Census data indicates that more than 60% of Miami-Dade renters pay more than 30% of their salary on housing. The numbers are especially grim for the lower and middle class wage earners who make up the bulk of the county's workforce.
The shifting economics have exacerbated the gulf between the haves and have-nots in Miami. One recent report put the level of economic inequality in Miami and across South Florida on a par with Colombia’s and second only to New York City in the United States.
The crisis is the distressing downside of Miami’s rapid ascendance into the ranks of the world’s most desirable cities, said noted urbanist Richard Florida, co-author of the inequality report and part-time Miami Beach resident.
“We’re at the vortex. We’re at the eye of the storm,” Florida said. “Many things are going well. The economy is growing. We’re now seeing an influx of talented people. We’re being discovered by new kinds of people. Young people are coming here. We are at an inflection point here where these changes are coming so fast. “What Miami has is a crisis of success.”
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