Affordability concerns are weighing down Miami's rental market.

Driving the news: The average asking rent in the Miami metro area was $2,141 in the fourth quarter of 2022, up 13.3% from a year earlier, per economic research firm Moody's Analytics, Axios' Sami Sparber writes.

The big picture: Many would-be home buyers chose to rent longer last year, sustaining apartment demand, economists at Moody's Analytics say. But folks are hitting their spending limit.

• For the first time in over two decades, households now have to spend 30% of their income on average rents, a new report shares.

Year-over-year rent growth slowed in the second half of the year across the board, "and we expect further deceleration as new supply makes it to market at the same time the labor market softens," senior economist Lu Chen tells Axios.

Zoom out: Rents are already falling in cities that were near the epicenter of the pandemic home-price boom, Axios' Matt Phillips reports, citing Realtor.com data.

What we're watching: New apartment construction. The expected surge in supply could help bring down prices.

• Yes, but: Experts say most cities will "remain undersupplied with the kind of affordable units that see the highest demand," per The Wall Street Journal.

💼 Check out these fresh open positions in the city.

1. Director of On-Site Training & Development at Flow.
2. Collections and Exhibitions Planning Director at Perez Art Museum Miami.
3. Sr. Finance Manager at Visa.

Want more opportunities? Check out our Job Board.

Hiring? Post a job.

🪨 An archeological excavation at the site of a planned residential complex in Brickell has uncovered evidence of an Indigenous settlement that may be up to 7,000 years old.

• Miami’s historic preservation board voted Tuesday to instruct city officials to study whether to grant the site legal protections. (Miami Herald)

🚨 Police have made four arrests in connection to illegal drag races on streets and highways throughout Miami-Dade. (Local 10)

🖊️ The state Legislature is meeting in a special session this week to vote on bills that would help Gov. Ron DeSantis' agenda: dismantling Disney's self-governing district, allowing for more migrant relocation flights and giving prosecutors more power in election fraud cases. (Politico)

• Plus: At an event in Hialeah Gardens yesterday, DeSantis teased the possibility of passing legislation that could lower the bar to successfully sue news outlets for defamation. (Herald)

📺 Showtime's new spinoffs of "Billions" and "Dexter" will be set in Miami. (EW.com)

🏀 The Heat traded center Dewayne Dedmon and a 2028 second round draft pick to the Spurs for cash considerations. (NBA)

💰 South Florida is set to receive $180 million in state funds for stormwater pumps, pipes and canals to deal with sea level rise, which is expected to grow by 2 feet by 2060. (Herald)

🎵 Cuban-American salsa icon Celia Cruz will appear on a U.S. quarter later this year. She will be the first Afro Latina to be on the coin. (NPR)

New year, new dates to lock into the calendar now. Our colleague Maxwell Millington compiled a list of what to look forward to in Miami in 2023.

1 big event: Beyoncé: Renaissance World Tour

We may have been snubbed by Taylor Swift, but Queen B(eyoncé) has come to save the day for one night in Miami this summer.

• When: Aug. 18.
• Where: Hard Rock Stadium.
• Details: Registration for tickets is here.

More events coming up:

🍤 Feb. 17–19: Everglades Seafood Festival

⚽️ Feb. 25: InterMiami home opener

🎶 March 12: Calle Ocho Music Festival

🎡 March 16–April 9: Miami Youth Fair

🎾 March 19–April 2: Miami Open

More events this year