Working Toward a Dream

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Sharisse Brantley, 29, and her husband, Breun, 32, are the parents of three young children. She is a childcare professional with a college degree, taking care of infants and toddlers at the nonprofit Jack & Jill Early Childhood Learning in Fort Lauderdale, which serves working families earning modest wages. He is an entrepreneur and musician who runs a DJ and entertainment business, Profound Sound Productions, playing parties and events throughout South Florida.

Sharisse grew up in the same house her parents have owned for 30 years, and the couple have dreams of their children growing up knowing a home of their own. So far that dream has been elusive. The couple live in a two-bedroom town-home with their children, a 1-year-old boy and 3- and 5-year-old daughters. The rent has gone up from $1,500 to $1,800 in two years, and they can’t afford another rent hike.

South Florida has some of the highest median monthly rents in the nation, according to the National Association of Realtors, along with some of the nation’s highest inflation rates. A recent study from Florida Atlantic University and two other schools found South Florida was one of 11 markets nationwide where the average renter needed to earn at least $100,000 to not be rent-burdened. Florida had four markets in the top 10 on the list.

“We’ve been trying to save money, but things have been difficult with the kids getting sick and me having to miss work,” says Sharisse Brantley, who recently stayed home when her 1-year-old son developed a contagious respiratory virus that can turn serious. “Hopefully in five to 10 years, we’ll be able to save enough to purchase a home — somewhere for our kids to grow up.”

Breun Brantley started out as a musician before working as a DJ and playing in live bands. The business expanded to include event production, and offering his services as a photographer, videographer and lighting tech. During the pandemic, events evaporated and the couple was evicted from their apartment. “You pick yourself up and keep on going,” she says. “We stayed with my parents for a year.” That Thanksgiving, Breun Brantley posted on his Instagram page where family life is chronicled in school photos and baby videos, a simple message: “Grateful beyond measure.”

The Brantleys rebounded and moved into the townhouse in 2021. But times are still tight for the family. “The price of groceries has gone up. Feeding a family of five, it’s a lot,” she says. “I budget out what we’re going to cook for the week, and I have to be mindful of not overspending.”

On weekends, Sharisse Brantley pitches in on the business. “Most of his work is on the weekends. That’s something I do with him as well. I’ll DJ a small birthday party or a baby shower,” she says.

There’s not much room in their budget to take the inevitable surprise expenses — such as when the dryer broke and there was no money to replace it. With three small children and the mountains of laundry they produce, Sharisse Brantley finds herself hauling it to a laundromat after work. “I work from 9 to 6, and sometimes I don’t get off until 6:30 or 7 if I have a late family. Now, I have to go to a laundromat to do the wash. Going without a dryer is getting to me.”

Florida Housing and the Fed

When Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President and CEO Raphael Bostic visited Florida’s Space Coast in April, he got a firsthand look at the economic renaissance sweeping the region as the private space industry flourishes, NASA plans a return to the moon and high-tech investments bring young STEM talent flooding into the area.

In Brevard County, 28% of the jobs are deemed higher wage, compared to Florida’s 24% and the nation’s 25%, according to an Atlanta Fed report. The median household income is more than $65,000 — putting it in the upper third of Florida’s 67 counties.

But Bostic, who has authored research on affordable housing and served in national leadership positions on housing policy, also learned the good times have a downside when it comes to workforce housing. Brevard County civic and business leaders told Bostic that the scarcity of affordable housing is fueling a brain drain of mid-career public school educators even as Brevard residents voted in 2022 to tax themselves more to pay for across-the-board pay hikes for teachers and school employees and to create an affordable housing trust fund. “Pricing is always about supply and demand,” Bostic told the gathering. “When demand is higher than supply, the price goes up. The question is where the new supply is coming from. Is there a strategy or energy or focus?”

That’s why the Fed is now looking toward Florida’s Live Local Act as among the new solutions to ease the state’s housing supply crunch. The tools provided to local government and homebuilders are “fantastic,” says Sarah Stein, a senior advisor in community and economic development at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

“There are developers who now are considering projects in places that they just never would have looked at before because of the barriers of rezoning,” Stein says, “which could affect the supply significantly. It’s really going to be a question of how local jurisdictions are using these tools, how they are finding a way to maybe synchronize them with existing tools — other financing possibilities and programs — and really working with stakeholders, whether they’re for-profit or non-profit communities to get these units built so that people have a place to live.”

The Fed also tracks the cost of renting, and Stein says the curve of steep price increases is flattening, albeit at high rates still unaffordable to moderate wage earners. In some Florida cities, such as Jacksonville, there have been slight decreases in month-over-month rates, but “rent is still much higher than pre-pandemic,” she notes.

“The best chance is for localities to take a hard look at their piece of this local, regional, statewide, national issue around access to safe, affordable and stable housing for everyone and figure out how they’re going to use these tools and other tools at their disposal to address that issue. And certainly, the state of Florida has made more tools available to them than they had before,” Stein says. – Michael Fechter

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