Report: Rent increases double-digits in Tampa-St. Pete, Sarasota-Bradenton

Rent is up in the Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan area by 12.2% from 2023, but the jump remains beneath the national median increase of 12.6%, according to a Friday report by Construction Coverage.

Tampa-St. Pete's increase was moderate compared to other major metro areas too, with Tampa Bay ranking No. 32 on Construction Coverage's list of big cities' rent increases.

Construction Coverage found Tampa Bay's median 2023 rent was $1,863 per month. It is now $2,091 — a 12.2% year-over-year increase, the research publication reported. (The report looked at rents in January versus last year.)

For some mid-sized cities along the Gulf Coast, the rental surge was a bit stronger.

Construction Coverage found the Sarasota-Bradenton area saw rents jump by 15.6%, from $1,844 in 2023 to $2,132 now.

That landed Sarasota-Bradenton at No. 17 for rental jumps for mid-sized U.S. cities. The metro area of Cape Coral and Fort Myers landed at No. 20. That area saw a 15.2% increase, from $1,708 to $1,967.

Naples ranked No. 94 because rents actually decreased by $5 — from $2,049 in 2023 to $2,024.

Florida as a whole ranked No. 14 among states, with a median surge of 14.9%, from $1,785 in 2023 to $2,051 now.

Despite not leading the nation in rental surges, Tampa Bay and other Gulf Coast areas still find the rental increases taxing, as the double-digit increase in rent have plagued both the U.S. and Floridian economies.

"Increased rents have been one of the persistent factors underlying the price increases of the last two years, as a major component in several common measures of inflation," Construction Coverage says. "With high home prices and mortgage interest rates pricing many would-be buyers out of the residential real estate market, rentals have been highly competitive."

An underlying problem is the long-term shortage of housing stock in the United States, the report says.

"Many builders were hard-hit by the Great Recession, and as a result, the U.S. dramatically underbuilt its housing stock throughout the 2010s," the report says. "Renters are feeling the consequences: rental vacancy rates are at their lowest level on record. In short, this means that more renters are competing for fewer available units."

But supply is rushing to meet demand. Tampa rental units increased by 3% in 2023, according to a December report by RentCafe.