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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis might be best known these days for his “war on woke.” He’s generated daily headlines for his “Don’t Say Gay” bill in schools, his battles against Disney, and the travel advisories issued against the state by the NAACP and LGBTQ organizations.

However, his housing policies haven’t generated nearly as much attention.

After months of fueling rumors, DeSantis formally announced his bid for the U.S. presidency on Wednesday. What would that mean for the housing market if he wrests the Republican nomination from real estate mogul and former President Donald Trump and wins the general election in 2024? (Currently, Trump has a sizable advantage in the polls among likely GOP voters.) Realtor.com® looked at the No. 2 Republican contender’s housing-related priorities during his four-plus years as governor of the Sunshine State for clues.

“His experience as the governor of Florida has certainly exposed him to the housing market and its issues,” says Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Forecasting at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. “He’s intimately familiar with the shortage of housing that has plagued our state.”

Florida experienced tremendous growth during the COVID-19 pandemic as companies expanded and legions of folks moved to the Sunshine State. It was the nation’s fastest-growing state last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The median home list price in Florida shot up 42%, to about $468,000, from April 2020 to April 2023, according to Realtor.com data. Rental prices also surged throughout the state during the pandemic.

This year, DeSantis has passed bills geared toward creating more housing, providing assistance to first-time buyers, as well as restricting international buyers from certain countries from purchasing real estate in Florida. The government has also responded to the devastation wrought by hurricanes and flooding by making changes to Florida’s property insurance industry.

The legislature has also been forced to confront the state’s affordability challenges. For years, the state had typically been reallocating the money from its affordable housing trust fund to other projects. In 2021, the legislature agreed that a third of that money will be spent on housing, while the rest can go to other priorities.

Democrats have blasted diverting the money away from housing during such a severe real estate shortage.

DeSantis and Trump will have plenty of competition from other Republicans vying for the nation’s highest office. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley announced her candidacy in February. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott threw his hat in the ring this week, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is expected to enter the fray. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and former Vice President Mike Pence are also likely to run.

Whoever wins the 46th presidency—from either side of the aisle—will have a major challenge in tackling the housing crisis.

“It would have to be concerted efforts from all levels of government,” says Snaith. “We need to help expedite the process for developers from going from paper to getting these housing units off the ground.”

DeSantis tries to create more affordable housing

In March, DeSantis signed an affordable housing plan that invested more than $700 million to provide low-interest loans to developers building workforce housing in Florida, down payment and closing costs assistance for first-time homebuyers, and the redevelopment of underused properties near military installations.

The Live Local Act is also expected to make it easier to convert commercial buildings into housing by bypassing local zoning boards, building height requirements, and local density regulations.

While superseding local authorities and zoning regulations can lead to a strain on local infrastructure—such as more traffic, crowding in schools, and other growing pains—the housing shortage “trumps” these concerns, says Ken Johnson, a real estate economist at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

“This will start to increase the supply of housing rather rapidly. We just need units built right now,” says Johnson. “We are still in a rental crisis here.”

He was less enthusiastic about the $100 million provided for down payment and closing costs assistance. The money will fund the Florida Hometown Heroes Housing Program, which the governor announced the creation of last year. It’s geared toward eligible first-time buyers who work in critical professions such as law enforcement, firefighting, education, health care, and child care, and active military or veterans, among others.

“There’s not enough money behind them to make a dent,” says Johnson.

The Live Local Act also prohibits towns and cities from enacting rent controls.

The state of Florida is short about 444,000 affordable and available rental homes for extremely low-income renters, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

“It has been more pocket change than real substantial solutions to the problem,” says Jack McCabe, who runs an eponymous housing consultancy in Southern Florida. “Seven hundred eleven million dollars looks like a lot of money, but the truth is it could take billions and billions of dollars to correct the problem.”

Restrictions on who can buy homes in Florida

Last week, DeSantis signed a bill to prohibit many Chinese citizens who aren’t legal U.S. residents from purchasing real estate in the state of Florida. The bill also bans citizens from six other countries—Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and Syria—from buying farmland that is located within 10 miles of military sites and critical infrastructure.

In addition, as of July 1, the new law will require some Chinese nationals to register the real estate they already own and whatever they buy with Florida’s state government.

The law has been criticized by Democrats, Asian American leaders, and some real estate professionals.

“The law is very restrictive,” says Dan Lionetta, president of the Asian American Real Estate Association of America, Greater Jacksonville Chapter. He is also a mortgage lender at Movement Mortgage. “We are certainly not in favor of the law and anyone, from any country, being limited regarding purchasing real estate.”

Real estate economist Johnson believes a bill like this “distorts” the market by dictating who can and who cannot buy.

“It will negatively impact price, although I think it will be marginal,” says Johnson. “We’re simply cutting the demand for real estate.

Tackling Florida’s hurricane and flooding issues

Last year, DeSantis signed a Republican bill to prop up Florida’s property insurance system as many companies have gone out of business and others are struggling due to the extensive damage wrought by storms and flooding. The bill raises costs for some homeowners while providing tax rebates for residents affected by Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. It will also force some homeowners out of receiving coverage from the state-created insurer.

As a result, many Floridians expect their already high flood insurance premiums to double this year.

“Many people are being forced to sell their homes and move,” says housing consultant McCabe.

However, the governor has also signed bills into law to give homeowners a break. One prevents insurers from refusing to cover homeowners if their roof is less than 15 years old. And in the wake of the Surfside condo collapse, buildings that are three stories and higher must be inspected after 30 years and then receive additional inspections every 10 years. Buildings that are within 3 miles of the coast must start undergoing inspections after 25 years.

The governor also approved setting $150 million aside last year to be used for grants for homeowners who want to retrofit their homes to be more resistant to hurricanes.

“The overall impact [of a DeSantis presidency] is hard to say right now,” says Johnson. “It’s a toss-up.”