Americans and nationals of other countries have been increasingly moving to Florida, particularly to the Tampa Bay area. According to last year’s data of the US Census Bureau, the population of Florida has been growing faster than that of any other state. Such performance has been recorded for the first time since the 1950s.
Recent data shows that the population is increasing the fastest in the Tampa Bay area: from Pasco County in the north to Sarasota and Manatee Counties in the south and Polk County in the east. For instance, the number of Pasco residents surged by 7.5% from 2020 through 2022, with Hernando and Citrus population growing by 5.8% and 5.2%, respectively. In the Manatee County in the south, the population increased by 6.9% over the same period; in Sarasota, by 6%; and in Polk, by 7.9%.
Brian Tresidder, President, Sarasota/Manatee Realtors Association, believes that it was the pandemic that forced many people to retire and move to the sunny Florida a few years earlier than planned. He says the consequences of the post-pandemic population hike are plain to see. For instance, many developers are submitting applications to increase development density and fit more residences into the same area. New residential communities keep popping up. 5,000 more houses than originally intended will be commissioned in Lakewood Ranch.
According to Mr. Tresidder, the growing interest rates somewhat cooled the real estate market, as the number of transactions reduced by 30-40%. House prices, however, remain high. “This is still the seller’s market,” the expert states. There are more buyers wanting to live in that part of Florida than homeowners ready to sell their properties.