Renters in Martin County say keeping up with the cost of living is a challenge, while a local real estate agent said that the market is neither rising nor falling \u2014 for now.<\/p>\n
Renters on the Treasure Coast told WPTV reporter Tyler Hatfield on Friday that the cost of living is putting a strain on their finances, even as a local real estate expert says the rental market has leveled off.<\/p>\n
Jesse Espinosa, a renter in Martin County, said the price of rent is taking a toll.<\/p>\n
WATCH BELOW: Treasure Coast renters say costs are straining budgets<\/p>\n
“I mean, living on your own, you got rent, food. You have pets, I mean, it’s almost impossible,” Espinosa said.<\/p>\n
Mike Edel of Martin County said his rent has gone up significantly since he first moved to the area.<\/p>\n
“It’s three times more expensive than it was when I first moved down here,” Edel said.<\/p>\n
Still, Edel said the Treasure Coast offers some relief compared to South Florida.<\/p>\n
“If you’re comparing it to Palm Beach or Miami, it’s a discount,” Edel said.<\/p>\n
That relative affordability is part of what drew Hunter Wharton to Martin County after growing up in Palm Beach Gardens.<\/p>\n
“Affordability and rent prices are a little bit cheaper,” Wharton said.<\/p>\n
Edel, however, said the difference is not dramatic.<\/p>\n
“It might be a little bit cheaper in the Treasure Coast, but we’re only talking a couple hundred bucks,” Edel said.<\/p>\n
Real Estate News<\/p>\n
Study: Florida ranks 10th highest nationally for rental wage requirements<\/p>\n
Kelley Decowski, a real estate agent in Martin County, said the rental market is currently flat.<\/p>\n
“We’re not seeing rental rates skyrocketing, but they’re not really coming down either,” Decowski said.<\/p>\n
Martin County is seeing the highest average rental rates on the Treasure Coast, ranging from $2,300 to $2,500 a month across all unit types. <\/p>\n
Decowski said those averages reflect a wide range of properties, from luxury and waterfront listings and private homes to apartment complexes.<\/p>\n
Indian River County has the lowest average rents in the region, ranging from $1,650 to $2,200 a month. <\/p>\n
St. Lucie County averages between $2,100 to $2,300 a month.<\/p>\n
Decowski said more rental inventory is coming to the market, which could push prices down \u2014 though inflation remains a wildcard.<\/p>\n
“We can’t necessarily rule out a little bit of price growth with all of the inflationary things that are going on, but I think that we’re going to see prices come down because of that inventory hitting the market,” Decowski said.<\/p>\n
For Edel, the bottom line is simple.<\/p>\n
“Everywhere in Florida is expensive, and that’s just the bottom line,” Edel said.<\/p>\n
Despite the costs, Edel said he has accepted the reality of renting in the current market.<\/p>\n
“You’re sort of paying to play,” Edel said.<\/p>\n
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Renters in Martin County say keeping up with the cost of living is a challenge, while a local…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363295,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":["post-363294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363294","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=363294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}