When Eliza Meyers started looking for a home to rent in Miami in February, she found crowds of other prospective tenants at every apartment she viewed. “There was little to no availability,” she says. “I would look at a place, go home, crunch the numbers, talk to my mum, call back the agent and it would be gone. All within 24 hours. Five times that happened. It was very discouraging.”
The sixth time she found a suitable place, she pounced. But it meant increasing what she paid in rent every month from $1,640 to $3,088.
In light of the 88 per cent increase, Meyers has had to reduce her pension contributions from 5 to 3 per cent of her salary — a sum that may yet fall further. “It’s an insane amount I’m having to pay,” she says. “I definitely stress about money and finances.”