MediaLab<\/a> and conducted by Mainstreet Research, a whopping 91% of voters feel that housing in Florida is unaffordable.<\/p>\nWhen asked, however, if Florida is so expensive that they will leave the state for cheaper pastures, women were 21% more likely than men to say they intend to stay in Florida despite rising costs.<\/p>\n
While 43% of male respondents said the statement, \u201cFlorida is too expensive, I\u2019m planning to move somewhere cheaper\u201d best represented their feelings, this was true of only 25% of the women who were surveyed.<\/p>\n
Instead, 66% of women said the statement, \u201cFlorida is too expensive, but I\u2019m planning on staying\u201d best matched their sentiment, while only 45% of men did so.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Florida\u2019s female respondents outpaced men in homeownership: While 49% of men reported that they own their homes, 55% of women said the same.<\/p>\n
These findings suggest that men are more likely to pull up stakes and abandon Florida \u2014 which, in recent years, has become one of the country\u2019s most expensive regions \u2014 while women are digging in their heels.<\/p>\n
Dr. Louise K. Davidson-Schmich, a professor of political science at the University of Miami, pointed to declining marriage rates and shifting labor patterns as possible factors influencing the rise in female homeownership.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince the rate of marriage in the U.S. has been consistently falling, it\u2019s probably not surprising that more people are buying homes as singles than as couples,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As fewer Americans marry, more individuals are entering the housing market independently rather than as part of a dual-income household.<\/p>\n
Davidson-Schmich also noted that men\u2019s labor force participation has steadily decreased, potentially limiting the number of women who can rely on a partner\u2019s income when making major financial decisions such as purchasing property.<\/p>\n
While increased female homeownership may expand women\u2019s long-term financial independence, she cautioned that economic disparities remain.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn average women only earn 85% of what men earn,\u201d Davidson-Schmich said, noting that \u2014because of the gender-related wage gap \u2014 it might be more difficult for women to absorb rising homeowners insurance premiums as well as the increasingly unaffordable maintenance costs and property-related expenses in Florida.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rising cost of housing and insurance in Florida is definitely a gendered issue,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
While Davidson-Schmich outlined the broader economic forces behind the trend, women living in South Florida describe the decision to stay in more personal terms.<\/p>\n
For Elizabeth Miller, a 52-year-old health insurance agent, staying in South Florida has never been purely about affordability.<\/p>\n
Miller, who lives in Deerfield Beach, has owned her home in South Florida since 2001. After spending years living in New York, she said Florida immediately appealed to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love Florida. I lived in New York for many years, where the prices are even higher than here, and it\u2019s cold,\u201d Miller said, explaining that the warm climate and comparatively lower housing costs initially drew her south.<\/p>\n
Miller has remained a homeowner through major economic shifts, including during the Great Recession, and the recent surge in property values and insurance premiums.<\/p>\n
Despite market volatility, she said she has never seriously considered leaving, largely for emotional reasons.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m only three hours away from my family in Colombia by plane, and I love the beach,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n
Her experience reflects a key finding of the poll, which showed that Latina women were among the most likely demographic group to say they intend to stay in South Florida despite housing-related costs.<\/p>\n
This holds true not just for homeowners but renters, as well.<\/p>\n
Samina Compton, 26, a cocktail waitress renting a high-rise apartment in Hallandale Beach, said her connection to the region feels just as strong.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was born and raised here. I am now renting a high rise and I love it,\u201d Compton said. \u201cThe culture, the amenities like a waterfront pool or gym, the food, proximity to the beach, and the nightlife here is good, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Florida, she said, is \u201cperfect.\u201d<\/p>\n
This story was produced by MediaLab@FAU, a project of Florida Atlantic University\u2019s School of Communication and Multimedia Studies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Florida continues to rank among the least affordable housing markets in the nation but the state\u2019s women are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":157859,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[558,249,251,250,114,480,109],"class_list":{"0":"post-157858","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-lauderdale","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-fort-lauderdale","10":"tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","11":"tag-fort-lauderdale-news","12":"tag-latest-headlines","13":"tag-real-estate","14":"tag-social"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}