Tampa ends year as 4th hottest rental market in Florida, report says

Despite an increase in inventory, snagging an apartment in Tampa was no easy task this year. 

For the first time, an annual report has ranked Tampa among the top 30 toughest rental markets in the nation for renters and the fourth hottest market in Florida — just behind Miami, Broward County and Orlando, respectively.

According to data collected in RentCafe’s Rental Competitiveness report, Tampa’s rental market grew more competitive in 2025 than previous years, even as developers continued to build at a steady pace, adding 4.11% more apartments last year compared to 3.36% in 2024. Yet Tampa tenants are staying in their apartments longer, the report finds, and the number of potential renters looking to move to the area continues to outpace growth. 

The occupancy rate in the city remained one of the highest in the nation at 92.6%, the report says. 

RentCafe ranked Tampa the No. 27 toughest rental market in the nation this year, with nine prospective renters for each vacant unit available in the city. In Miami, named the hottest rental market in the country, there are 19 renters for every available unit. 

Orlando, which ranked No. 18 nationally and third in Florida, has 10 people looking to rent an apartment for every unit. 

Tampa’s slow turnover rate keeps the market competitive even as thousands of new apartments are built each year, the report says. Renters in the city typically sign 13-month leases, renew for another full year and stay an average of 27 months. 

According to the report, 67% of renters decided to stay put in 2025, up 3.2% from last year and keeping occupancy rates hovering around 93%. In these circumstances, apartments spent an average of 39 days on the market in 2025.

Things aren’t getting any easier for renters in other parts of the country, either, although a wave of new units expected to be built this summer should make the search slightly easier, the report states. While the Northeast tops the list as the toughest region to secure an apartment in the U.S., it is followed closely behind by the Midwest and Florida. 

The report’s data on rental markets nationwide show that competition could reach an average of 11 renters per apartment by early summer. A brief supply bump will add 1.29% more new units nationwide this summer, before RentCafe predicts a sharp slowdown in new construction. During the construction boom, units are expected to sit vacant for an average of 51 days, but by year’s end could be leasing in as little as 30, the report says. 

Nationwide, occupancy rates are expected to stay high at around 93% as are renewal rates, which mirror Tampa’s at around 62%.