According to the University of Florida’s Economic and Business Research population projections, Florida should gain 23,000 residents from the spring of 2009 to the spring of 2010, bringing the population of the State of Florida to 18,773,000.   Which is a large jump compared to the year before where the study showed a loss of nearly 57,000 residents according to bureau Director, Stan Smith, “It appears the state’s population loss was a one-year occurrence,” he stated.

Smith believes that the growth of Florida will be slow during the “early years of the new decade”, with the high unemployment rate;  however there are many signs that the real estate market is beginning to pick up across the state.  The population growth of Florida relies strongly on the economy as many people migrate to Florida for a number of different reasons; some are looking for employment, some are looking to retire and many are foreign immigrants. There are also a number of visitors from other states who flood to Florida during the winter months in an effort to escape the cold winters.  According to Smith, “Even retirees are affected by economic conditions because of the housing market,” he says. “If it’s difficult for them to sell their homes, they may have to delay a retirement move to Florida even if that is what they had been planning to do.”

The increase in population in the Sunshine State is just one more sign of economic recovery for the state.  With the low home prices, tax credits and low interest rates, there is no time like the present to purchase your Florida dream home!