Yolanda is going through one of the most distressing moments of her life, because she has to leave the place where she lives, because she does not have the money to pay the new value of her rent. His case is an example of what is happening in South Florida with the real estate market.
“I am a person who has been in this country for 41 years, I receive all the help from the government, and because a corporation bought it (the building where I live), I have to leave,” says this older adult.
Yolanda has nowhere to go, because “the rents are such that one can no longer live here.”
She has lived for 1 year and 5 months in an apartment in Little Havana. “According to my financial aid, I have not been able to find a place to move because there is none.”
Jorge Ríos, a real estate expert, tells us that “a lot of people from California, New York” are buying in South Florida. “You don’t have state taxes here, no Covid restrictions, Miami has become the epicenter of the nation,” he explains.
Ríos says that many of his clients come to South Florida and work remotely from here.
“California wages are much higher than here, earning what you earn there you can give yourself a luxurious life,” he explains.
This phenomenon ends up inadvertently displacing people like Yolanda, because as there are people willing to pay more, competition and demand rise, and therefore, according to Ríos, so do prices.
“All investors are buying everything (what is available). I have more customers than inventory,” says Ríos.
This is a problem that, according to Ríos, affects all of Florida, especially Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.
“Inflation is at 7%, having your money in the bank is 2% interest, it is costing you money to have money in the bank and they are investing in properties and renting them out,” says Ríos.
For her part, Yolanda asks for help to find her home. “Where are all those who can help you, is what I ask, please help me because I have to leave at the end of the month, where do I go? I am an 84-year-old person, not on the street”, says Yolanda.
“We are living in a country with democracy and there is no such thing as rent control, there is the freedom that each owner can ask for their property what they think it is worth,” says the Miami appraiser, consulted about the high prices.