Yes. We are finding the same thing in the Tampa Bay region. The state is adding 845 new residents evey day. Last year 318,855 more people moved here. The population of Orlando (the city proper not including the nearby surrounding suburbs) is 302,000+. So the state is adding another Orlando in population every year.
All those new residents don't tell the whole story though because not all of them will end up staying. Some of them quickly find (to their surpise) that while the cost of living is typically lower here than other northern states in particular, that unfortunately Florida is also a lower wage state. It is a nice bonus that Florida doesn't have a state income tax. However unions are very few and far between. Some employers either don't offer insurance at all or they offer pretty expensive plans. Not all, mind you. But many. So many of us Florida residents put up with what we sarcastically call the "the Sunshine Tax". haha As in.... Is it worth it to you to live on less disposable income (than you could get elsewhere) for the huge perk of living in a semi-tropical climate with sunny, very mild winters of no snow and no bitter cold? For me, that's a definite yes. No regrets.
Some new residents who come here unaware of the unique challenges, will end up returning to their original home states for the better wages and benefits offered by northern employers. The other downside is that Florida's schools typically have not been up to par with their northern counterparts either. So that pushes many young parents with kids to have to be very picky about which school districts they are moving into down here. (If they have that luxury in choosing their most affordable and desireable home in their preferred city or location.)
But like Mark has said, the cost of real estate is going really high. The cost of rent is out of sight and seemingly going up monthly rather than quarterly or annually. There isn't enough inventory to accomodate all these new people moving in. Plus of course there is also greed driving the housing market just like there is all over the country. Landlords and apartment complex owners know they can pass off an unjustified increase in rent (far beyond any actual increase in costs to them) and just blame it on "inflation". Which artificially justs boosts actual inflation higher.
Also, yes. With a high elderly population who come here to retire in Florida, that does keep older inventory coming on to the market as they inevitably pass on. But even that isn't enough to really get ahead of the inventory gap. They're building like crazy down here and getting top dollar. Grocery costs are following the same trend here as all over the country.
The high inflation for just about everything is a tough time for us all.
haha
