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Renters working more hours to afford rising prices
Aaron Mesmer reports
TAMPA, Fla. - Soaring rent prices are causing renters to have to work more hours than ever, according to a new study released by the real estate website, Zillow.
According to the Zillow report, roughly a third of a renters' monthly income, or about a week and a half of work, is used to rent. That equals 63 hours of work.
The situation is worse in Tampa, where renters would need to work 69 hours to afford the median rent price of $2,300. That's up 20 hours compared to five years ago.
"You have more people coming into the city of Tampa and it's causing higher demands which allow for higher rents and higher prices and home values," explained Ali St Cyr, a realtor with Tomlin St Cyr Real Estate Services in Tampa, adding people often have to expand their search to find a place that fits their budget. "Prices certainly are going up to live in this super desirable area. But there are also a lot of options for people to go a little bit further outside the city and find something more affordable."
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Paychecks aren't keeping up with the skyrocketing rent prices. Zillow also found that, while rent prices are up almost 40 percent in five years, average wages have only seen a 23 percent increase.
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"If we have increases in housing, but we have a corresponding increase in wages then and that's okay. But we're kind of seeing exact opposite increases in prices and we're seeing stagnant wages."
As bad as the situation is in Tampa, it's worse in Miami, where renters would have to work 96 hours to afford rent.