Weekly Special | September 8, 2025

Tallahassee Has Abandoned First-Time Buyers

The numbers don’t lie.

From 2006 to 2010, Tallahassee built nearly 150 homes under 1,000 square feet. In the sixteen years since, we’ve built fewer than 40.

That isn’t a slowdown; it’s a collapse, and it’s shutting out first time buyers.

Entry level homes, especially attached townhomes, are the on ramp to ownership for young professionals, teachers, first responders, and families starting out. When that on ramp disappears, people don’t stop wanting homes — they leave, or they rent forever.

This isn’t on builders. They follow the incentives and rules they’re given. Right now, those rules make no easier than yes.

City and county officials have listened too closely to the loudest NIMBY complaints and not closely enough to what our broader community needs: more small, affordable homes in walkable places. Each year we delay, the cost to buy rises, neighborhoods age out, and our talent pipeline thins.

We can fix this with policy. Update zoning to allow attached units and sub 1,000 sqft homes by right in more districts. Streamline approvals for infill townhomes. Reduce parking minimums near jobs and transit. Tie incentives to price caps for first time buyers. When rules reward affordability, the market will deliver it.

The choice is simple: a city only the already housed can afford, or a city where residents can buy their first home and stay.

If you agree, forward this to a neighbor and your commissioner. Ask for action on zoning reform and starter home approvals now. Tallahassee’s future homeowners are waiting; open the door.

The original one-page Weekly Special PDF is still available.