Florida Housing Info:

Most Florida of communities have shown great housing growth prospects over the past several years, and many expect this incredible growth to continue. According to Zillow, Florida has a median sales price of $136,000. Jacksonville is the most populated metro area with approximately 822,000 people and a median sales price of $122,000. The next two biggest cities, Miami and Tampa, have a median sales price of $153,000 and $112,000, respectively. These three cities are all very different, though all have affordable housing options that can be found through rent to own and lease to own housing options.

Florida’s Neighborhoods:

Roughly 19 million people call Florida home because of its great weather, job prospects and education opportunities. Jacksonville is the largest and boasts over 500 neighborhoods. It has a population of roughly 830,000 with 42% of those living in the city being 18-44 years old. Jacksonville is home to museums, theaters and parks, ensuring there is something to do for everyone. This is what makes it a great city to find rent to own or lease to own homes.

Tampa is the next biggest city in Florida and home to about 335,000. In recent years Tampa has seen a notable upsurge in high-market demand from consumers, signaling more wealth concentrated in the area, according to the Tampa Bay Times. This surge opens up many middle class homes for rent to own availability at far lower prices than could otherwise be found. It is ranked by the Forbes as the 5 th best outdoor city and is home to a number of professional sports teams such as the Tampa Bay Rays in MLB and the Tamp Bay Buccaneers in the NFL.

In 2008, Forbes magazine ranked Miami "America's Cleanest City", for its year-round good air quality, vast green spaces, clean drinking water, clean streets and city-wide recycling programs. Quite a feat for a city of 408,000 and a metro area that is home to more than 8 million! A city this big offers plentiful rent to own housing options at quite the discount! Miami has numerous orchestras, symphonies and performing art conservatories. Some of these include the Florida Grand Opera, Frost School of Music, Miami City Ballet, Miami Conservatory, New World School of the Arts, as well as the music, theater and art schools of the city's many universities and schools.

Florida Economy:

Florida’s economy is expected to grow by 1.7 percent in the next six months, the strongest growth predicted since August 2005. In December Florida’s unemployment rate stood at 8% which is lower than the national average, according to the US Bureau of Labor. Well known public companies that are headquartered in Florida include World Fuel Services (Miami), Tech Data (Clearwater), Carnival (Miami), Office Depot (Boca Raton) and CSX (Jacksonville).

Historically, the economy of Florida was dependent on agricultural products such as citrus, sugar, cotton and cattle. Tourism makes up the largest sector of the state economy. Warm weather and hundreds of miles of beaches attract about 60 million visitors to the state every year. Florida was the top destination state in 2011. The major contributors to the state's gross output in 2007 were general services, financial services, trade, transportation and public utilities, manufacturing and construction respectively. Chief Executive Magazine name Florida the third "Best State for Business" in 2011. The economic opportunities make Florida an excellent place to find your rent to own home!