Tampa among nation's most active apartment markets

The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan statistical area (MSA) ranks among the Top 20 markets nationwide this year for new apartment development, according to a new survey by real estate research firm Yardi Matrix.

With a projected 4,912 new units set to be delivered by Dec. 31, the three-city MSA ranks 18th in the U.S., ahead of Minneapolis and Portland, Ore., and just behind San Francisco and Boston, Yardi’s RentCafe affiliate finds.

The estimated 2019 total is actually a decline of 6% from last year, when the Tampa area added 5,233 new apartment units to total inventory. That, too, mirrors a nationwide trend in deliveries.

By comparison, Orlando’s MSA is projected to add 6,143 new units this year, the most in Florida behind only Miami, with more than 13,000 new units. The Cape Coral-Fort Myers area will add 1,532 new units, while the Sarasota area will deliver 1,143 new apartments, Yardi Matrix reports.

The Dallas-Fort Worth MSA is expected to top the nation this year, by adding 22,196 new units.

Within the MSA, Tampa will be the site of the bulk of the new apartments, with 2,899 units, or roughly 60% of the total. St. Petersburg is expected to bring 718 new units online, and Clearwater will have no new offerings this year.

The new development also has fueled sales of existing properties in the area, which often are purchased at discounts to replacement costs.

In one of the latest examples, Providence Management Co. of Glenview, Ill., spent $80 million this summer to acquire the 432-unit Boot Ranch apartments in Palm Harbor, records show.

Providence bought the 1350 Seagate Drive complex from IMT Capital LLC, of Sherman Oaks, Calif., which had acquired in in October 2015 for $56.62 million.

In addition to Boot Ranch, Providence also owns 14 complexes in Florida, in Orlando, Tampa, Pensacola and Brandon.