Tampa Bay among the top 20 markets for apartment construction
By Devonta Davis
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Sep 7, 2023

A new report by RentCafe has ranked Tampa Bay as a top 20 market in apartment construction thus far in 2023.

The report indicates that Tampa Bay added 16,595 new apartments between 2020 and 2022. Additionally, it is set to deliver an extra 8,817 units by the end of 2023.

Nationally, 1.2 million new apartments were opened during the pandemic boom, with Dallas metro opening the most apartments during those three years (76,660 units). At the city level, Tampa has 4,537 new units projected for this year, followed by St. Petersburg with 1,163 units.

During the pandemic years, Tampa added the most apartments to its market — 6,248 new rentals. St. Petersburg introduced 2,635 new units, and Pinellas Park completed 1,263 units.

RentCafe's research team analyzed new apartment construction data across 296 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas to compile this report.

The study is exclusively based on apartment data on buildings containing at least 50 units. Metros with less than 300 units or less than two properties/buildings were excluded from the study.

Yardi Matrix provided apartment data for RentCafe, a business development and asset management tool. Apartment projections at the metro and city level for 2023 were calculated based on a Yardi Matrix proprietary algorithm, including confirmed and likely completions for 2023 based on issuing a certificate of occupancy. Once the certificate of occupancy is issued, the status of the property can be considered "completed."

Miami is projected to build the most apartments in the Sunshine State, with 20,906 by the end of 2023.

A separate RentCafe report shows that people are moving to the Sunshine State for jobs and a better lifestyle, reflected in the local rental market's competitiveness.

Tampa Bay is ranked No. 19 for competitiveness, with less than 6% of the apartments in the area unoccupied. Additionally, nearly two-thirds of renters chose to stay put, limiting housing options for renters.

Despite the 0.95% increase in new apartments, above the national average of 0.6%, Tampa Bay still can't meet the growing rental demand. As a result, prospective renters must compete with 10 others to secure a lease in this market, leaving unoccupied apartments filled in 41 days.