TAMPA BAY, Fla. — A new study shows Tampa Bay ranks 6th in the nation for the number of build-to-rent homes under construction, with about 1,400 houses in the pipeline.
The study conducted by Yardi-Matrix for RentCafefound Tampa Bay is currently producing these homes at a record pace, with a 156% increase in the last five years, equating to 1,374.
“It's still a rental. It looks like a house, though. Usually, they start out about 1400 square feet,” Yardi-Matrix Business Intelligence Analyst Doug Ressler explained. “They have a very good price point so that people who cannot afford homes or cannot find homes because of the lack of affordable supply, which continues to erode in the US, they have an opportunity now to rent in something that looks like a home.”
The area between Tampa and Orlando is seeing a big boom of build-to-rent homes, according to Yardi-Matrix-- they’re evening calling the market “Orlampa.”
But the latest inflation data also reveals the cost of housing is only going up, increasing by 0.6 percent from April to May. Prices are now 8 percent higher than they were a year ago.
“Things have gotten a lot worse,” said St. Petersburg Tenant’s Union Organizer William Kilgore. “Rents have just continued to climb. People have continued to get evicted and become homeless and it's it's a big problem.”
St. Pete, Tampa, and Orlando now rank the 34th, 35th, and 36th least affordable housing markets in the U.S. onRealityHop's housing index published in May.
On top of that, 15,000 people are waitlistedfor affordable housing or Section 8 vouchers in Tampa, and 10,000 people are waitlisted in St Petersburg.
Kilgore said build-to-rent homes aren’t the solution to the affordable housing crisis because corporate landlords control rents.
“The biggest problem is that these are owned by corporate landlords. This isn't a good thing. We don't want more corporate landlords in our community, who can just jack up the rent and not give any consideration to their tenants, not give their tenants any sort of democratic say or control over the living space over their heads,” he exclaimed.
He instead suggested that cities and states own and operate more properties so there is accountability and rent control for residents.
In March, Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Live Local Act-- the largest housing investment in Florida history, investing $711 million into programs to expand the availability of housing and downpayment assistance.
Kilgore adds that the government needs to monitor vacancy rates closer, stating the tenant’s union is finding that even though St Pete’s vacancy rate is nearly double the country’s average vacancy rate-- close to 19%, many units are Airbnb’s or apartments that allow people to pay nightly rates.