OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT 



Several other considerations important to understanding the character- 

 istics of residental development in Northwest Florida are included in the 

 following subsections. 



Quality of Housing 



In the past, the U.S. Census determined the quality of housing by the 

 number of homes with and without plumbing. In 1970, the three most rural 

 counties had the least adequate plumbing (Table 6). The seven county average 

 of 7.4% is high compared to other areas of Florida (e.g., only 3.5% of the 

 housing units in Southwest Florida lacked adequate plumbing). 



Table 6. The number and percentage of year-round housing units without ade- 

 quate plumbing in Northwest Florida in 1970 (U.S. Department of Commerce 

 1971). 



County 



Bay 



Escambia 



Frankl in 



Gulf 



Okaloosa 



Santa Rosa 



Walton 



Northwest Florida 145,731 10,775 7.4 



Price Range of Units for Sale 



A review of the price range of housing units for sale gives incoming 

 residents a general idea of what proportion of their income must be allocated 

 to housing. The median value of housing units for sale in Northwest Florida 

 has generally been below that for the State as a whole (Table 7). The excep- 

 tion is Okaloosa County in 1970. Although housing values for the region will 

 likely remain lower than the State average, values could rise sharply in the 

 event of OCS related oil and gas development. 



Rental Units 



In 1970, about one-third of the housing in Florida and in Northwest 

 Florida was rental units (Table 8). Of the seven counties in Northwest 

 Florida, Okaloosa had the highest percentage (40%), largely attributable to 

 the proximity of Eglin Air Force Base. The percentage of units in the two 

 most urbanized counties (i.e., Escambia and Bay) was near the State average. 



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