Almost two thirds of Orlando’s population are now renting their homes

Heres an end of the decade stat that hits close to home: as of 2019, one-third of Americans are renting their homes. And in classic Central Florida housing fashion, it’s much, much worse here.

According to an end-of-decade study by the apartment-finder website RENTCafé, almost two-thirds of Orlando’s population are now renting their homes.

Nationally, this trend started about a decade ago, shortly after the 2008 housing crisis. And Orlando, the locale that’s long held the ignominious mantle of housing-crisis hotspot, has been no exception.

That’s nearly a 20 percent bump in renters over the decade. Overall, the city finished 16th in the U.S. for the most renters to end decade two of the 21st century.

Orlando’s suburbs added 30 percent more renters in the last ten years or so.

When it comes to suburban centers, Orlando’s outer ring ranks fourth in the nation. RENTCafé’s study says Orlando’s suburbs added 30 percent more renters in the last ten years or so.

Even though local housing issues continue to persist or even worsen, housing construction has been plenty active in the last decade, according to the study.

Between 2010-2019, just shy of 44,000 new apartment units were built in the Orlando area. In that time period, that’s one of the largest additions of apartment stock by any city in the country. RENTCafé says Orlando also ranks 16th in the country in rate of apartment construction over the decade.

Alongside a big bump in renters was a big jump in lifestyle renters. RENTCafé says the last decade saw some 19,500 luxury apartment units come to Orlando.

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This article appears in Demolition Dynasty.