Real Estate Pulse: Tampa’s Rental market is on fire! Act on it or the property will be gone in a flash!

Real Estate Pulse:  Tampa’s Rental market is on fire!  
Act on it or the property will be gone in a flash!

SI Real Estate is a full service real estate boutique in Tampa Bay, including property management.  We have seen a significant increase in rental activity since February, 2015. As the year has progressed, so has the interest in Tampa’s rental market!  Right now, our agents are finding that rental listings are gone in a New York minute.  We are receiving calls and emails from an abnormal amount of new residents relocating to our area, causing the demand to drastically outweigh the supply.



This trend has not gone unnoticed by property developers in the area especially our urban core. They are purchasing land and building multifamily high end rentals, rather than luxury apartments or condos for sale.  Jeff Vinik has been at the forefront of this new demand. Starting with revitalizing the Channelside District.  The city of Tampa and developers are adding exciting urban attractions such as the popular Tampa Riverwalk. "I think people are buying into the story now that downtown Tampa will become a real downtown," Mike Davis, an executive director with Cushman & Wakefield of Florida Inc.  We are noticing the same effect, with interest in areas/price points that have not been popular in the past for our local rentals.

Here in Tampa, rentals have always been available as long as you have a fair budget. In SI Real Estate’s experience lately, this has not been the case! The vacancy rate of the rental market here has been pretty average the past 15 years, until now. Our vacancy rate has hit a 9 year low this year, 4.9% of all apartments here are vacant. That figure is lower than all 19 other southeastern metro areas that the company tracks. Now we know why we are having a tough time scheduling showings for rentals! They are gone as soon as they come up online or on the MLS.  Our landlords are using this high demand as a great reason to bump the rent pricing back up to pre-recession rates. Another market correction underway… Possibly the final stretch!



Apparently developers want in on all the action the rental market has been seeing. “Data from Vertica Partners LLC in Tampa shows more than 10,000 potential units — projects in various stages of development, between downtown Tampa, South Tampa and the Westshore area.” These areas are the crème-de-le-crème and seek the highest rent in Tampa Bay. They must be listening to market experts who are echoing that the vacancy rate will stay this way for the next year and a half. Rent prices will also keep rising according to industry leaders. By Real Data's figures, “the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom bay area apartment this year is $1,046 — $40 a month higher than a year ago and $176 higher than in 2010. Rents are expected to rise another 2 to 3 percent annually, the most in the Southeast, the report says”. SI Real Estate will keep an eye on the market while we remain incredibly busy putting families into homes, rentals and buyers!  Are you in?   

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Comments

Tampa Attorney said…
Good to hear the real estate market is bouncing back.

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