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Experts discuss affordable housing at USF Summit

Civic leaders and experts in housing gathered Wednesday at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg for the Florida Housing Summit, an initiative to bring together government, industry and nonprofit leaders to examine the state of housing affordability in Florida. The Summit, an initiative of former Senator Jeff Brandes’ non-partisan Florida Policy Project, drove dialogue and education around opportunities and challenges in the housing market.
Pinellas County struggles with an ongoing housing crisis, as limited available land and an influx of remote workers brings significant strain to housing market. Redfin analysis of MLS data shows that the average sale price of a Pinellas County home increased to $400,000 in March 2024, a 60% increase since 2020. While the median household income in Pinellas County increased from $66,900 in 2019 to $92,000 in 2024, the income needed to buy the median house in Florida increased to $114,000 in January 2024.
By educating the community on affordable housing options, Brandes noted, “When elected officials make statements like, ‘We’re going to build 10 or 20,000 units in our community,’ [the public] can hold them accountable for that. Ultimately, if they say ‘We’re going to build 10,000 units,’ then what are the steps to do that? What are the options on the table for that?”
Speaking on an expert panel about challenges in affordable housing, Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco CEO Mike Sutton agreed. “The public sector has proven they can’t do affordable housing on their own and the private sector has proven they can’t do affordable housing on their own … There is no silver bullet.”
Sutton and his co-panelists, Blue Sky Communities Partner Scott Macdonald and Pinellas Community Development Manager Bruce Bussey, identified misconceptions about affordable housing as a critical barrier to increasing availability. The issue, Macdonald emphasized, was not just supporting families in need but overall economic development.
“If you don’t have enough affordable housing to support the jobs that are making your economy run, your economy is not going to be able to grow or expand,” Macdonald explained.
Sutton highlighted that while Habitat for Humanity sells its houses to families with interest-free mortgages – rather than giving them away – they still need to pay market rate for almost all labor and materials involved in construction. “The only thing we save on is tax,” he quipped.
He further noted that many of the individuals most likely to be affected by affordability concerns don’t have the option to work remotely, such as teachers. Habitat itself recently lost three employees who moved out of state because of affordability concerns.
All three agreed that government support for affordable housing is a key difference maker, citing the example of Blue Sky’s Skyway Lofts development that added 131 units to St. Petersburg’s housing stock. Braley and panel chairman Tom Almonte, Assistant City Administrator of St. Petersburg, highlighted the use of Penny for Pinellas funds for housing that would dedicate $80,000,000 in public funds to housing over the next 10 years.
But while essential, government cooperation for affordable housing depends on the community, Almonte highlighted. “At the moment of making a decision, [If] we have 10-15 residents who are against [a project], it makes that decision very challenging for the elected body.
“Having a group of individuals that are following those projects and providing support are key.”

Cy Ense
May 3, 2024at5:50 pm
Why do local politicians exclude property taxes from the “affordable housing crisis”? How about reduced-zero property taxes for any home purchased for less than $250K or any apartment rented for less than $1200/month? Landlords would immediately drop rents.
Kari Mueller
May 2, 2024at10:17 am
Takeaway from the summit from former Mayor Rick Baker: an affordable housing development in Polk County for 88 households received a $15 million subsidy and took three years to complete. In that time 25,000 people moved to Polk County each year. The demand for housing continues to outstrip supply.
In addition to subsidizing affordable housing, we need to identify market based solutions including smaller footprint units. Smaller square footage apartments allow for affordability in a high interest rate, expensive insurance market and expensive labor and building material market.
Local workers just want a safe, clean place to come home to and a large percentage of them want to be in the downtown core.
We really also need to continue efforts to add density through upzoning. We can do so in a smart way that minimizes impact to existing residents. Let’s continue to focus on smart and practical approaches to adding housing supply.