Market Research
Tampa Market Overview
Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater MSA is comprised of four counties- Hillsborough, Pinellas, Hernando, and Pasco- situated around Tampa Bay & Old Tampa Bay, the Hillsborough River, and along the Gulf of Mexico on the west coast of Florida. The city of Tampa serves as the county seat for Hillsborough as well as the primary CBD of the MSA with St. Petersburg serving as the largest city in Pinellas County, with Clearwater serving as its county seat. Pasco and Hernando counties are situated north of Pinellas and Hillsborough and are more rural, suburban areas with much lower populations, 525,643 in Pasco and 186,553 in Hernando, and density than their counterparts to the south.
Tampa is also well known for its pirate parades, Cuban heritage, and world-renowned beaches that some find it shocking and surreal that region is also home to a variety of art and historic museums- including the Dali Museum- over fifty hospitals, an air force base & two coast guard stations, about one-fourth of the state’s business and information service firms and the most lightning strikes in the U.S. according to WeatherBug.
Economy
The region is the 18th largest MSA in the United States and the second-largest MSA in the state of Florida. Tampa’s specialized industries include finance & professional services, shipping & logistics, national defense, and real estate and is home to nearly 500 international companies, four Fortune 500 companies- Tech Data Corp., Jabil Inc., WellCare Health Plans Inc., and Raymond James Financial Inc. In fact Tampa Bay is quickly becoming one of the preferred target markets for corporate expansion and relocation attracting corporations, such as Ashley Furniture, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola Refreshments, MetLife, Raytheon, USAA, Bausch & Lomb, GE Aviation, Nielsen, Progressive Insurance, Sykes, and Valpak among others. Many large financial and shared service institutions are attracted to the region for its educated workforce, lower cost of living, favorable business climate, and quality of life.
Tampa recently gained another Fortune 500 company, Mosaic which relocated from Minneapolis in favor of Tampa’s business-friendly climate, nearby potash and phosphate mineral deposits, its port, and proximity to South America. The area’s economy is supported by a strong infrastructure which includes the state’s largest port, two international airports, several colleges & universities, three professional sports teams, a thriving tourist industry. The area is primarily served by the I-75 corridor and the I-4 warehouse and distribution logistics corridor which help give it access to 33 million consumers within an 8-hour drive. Tampa is the state’s second-largest exporting region and contains the closest deep-water port to the Panama Canal and post-Panamax capabilities.
Growth
Like most of the state of Florida population growth has been positive for the Tampa MSA at roughly 11.06% since 2010, according to US census data. The MSA was 10th in total U.S. net migration and 16th in international migration. The MSA ranked 8th out of the top 25 MSAs for total net migration percentage in 2017 and Pinellas remains the most densely populated county in the state.
More interestingly, Downtown Tampa is the site of the 53-acre, $3 billion urban redevelopment project known as Water Street Tampa. The planned mixed-use development is strategically located in Tampa’s urban core Channelside District and plans to be the world’s first WELL Certified™ city district for wellness. The district will offer a walkable, sustainable, Wi-Fi-connected, and healthy environment for tenants, residents, students, and guests.
Channelside already possesses a dense cluster of amenities proximate to Tampa’s downtown and Riverwalk areas, including Amalie Arena (home of the Tampa Bay Lightning NHL team), Tampa Bay History Center, Tampa Convention Center, Florida Aquarium, and an active passenger cruise terminal that serves close to 900,000 travelers each year- which already help to attract over three million visitors annually.
The Water Street Tampa project is backed by former fund manager, billionaire, and Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and Microsoft Corp. Co-Founder Bill Gates’ Cascade Investment LLC.
After years of planning serious construction began going vertical in April of 2018 with continued development phases scheduled through 2026 and when completed will contain 9.5 million square feet of space, including 3,500 residences.
The region is concentrating on growing its population and income by offering incentives to the marine and life sciences, specialized manufacturing, financial services, data analytics, and creative arts & design industries.
Unique Aspects
The Tampa Bay MSA often gets looked over in favor of Miami for its beaches and Orlando for its theme parks, but this region is truly a city on the bay offering some of the best beaches and waterways the state and country have to offer. The somewhat lesser known Clearwater Beach and St. Pete Beach are among two of the highest ranked beaches in the country. In fact, Clearwater Beach took TripAdvisor’s top beach in 2018 and 2016 and finished at No. 4 in 2017 while also being the only beach in the US to make the list of Top 25 beaches in the world in 2016. TripAdvisor most recently ranked St. Pete Beach the No. 7 beach in the US in 2018 and it has steadily been ranked in the top 10 by TripAdvisor since 2014.
Tampa Bay also claims to have the World’s Longest Continuous Sidewalk which stretches 4.5 miles along Tampa’s Bayshore Boulevard offering breathtaking views of Hillsborough Bay, Downtown Tampa, marine life like manatees, dolphins, and rays, and a long row of beautiful homes and estates opposite the water. Downtown Tampa also offers The Tampa Riverwalk- a waterside walkway, which when completed, will stretch 2.6 miles along the banks of the Hillsborough River and the shores of Tampa Bay.
Even lesser known is Tampa’s nickname as the “Lightning Capital of the US” and its NHL team the “Tampa Bay Lightning” are more than just clever nicknames. Engineers at Earth Networks analyzed data from the largest lightning detection system in the world and found in 2015 that Tampa had the most lightning strikes in the US.
We greatly value the need for precise, well-timed, and pertinent information for providing recommendations to our clients based on current market certainties. In order to do so, we have a firm commitment to methodically gathering, consolidating, and scrutinizing market data and other pertinent information from multiple sources (including, but not limited to, Costar and LoopNet).
NAR Commercial Market Insights
National Association of REALTORS® Research Group
Commercial Market Insights – July 2021
Commercial Market Insights – December 2020
Tampa Bay Cost of Living Calculator
Tampa Bay EDC Cost of Living calculator
Tampa Hillsborough EDC (Economic Development Corporation)
Tampa Hillsborough EDC website
Tampa Bay Crane Watch
Major projects happening around the seven-county Tampa Bay area.
NAIOP
The National Association of Industrial & Office Properties (NAIOP) – Commercial Real Estate Development Association
FLORIDA GULFCOAST COMMERCIAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
The mission of the Florida Gulfcoast Commercial Association of Realtors® (FGCAR) is to provide the Tampa Bay region a source of professional expertise and ethical accountability in the field of commercial real estate.
City of Tampa & Hillsborough County Zoning information
City of Tampa Zoning (applications, maps, fees, and other helpful information)
Hillsborough County Zoning (applications, maps, fees, and other helpful information)
City of Tampa U.S. Census Bureau Population & Demographic Data
City of Tampa Population & Demographic Data
Hillsborough County U.S. Census Bureau Population & Demographic Data
Hillsborough County Population & Demographic Data
Tampa Bay Chamber
Tampa Bay Chamber information
City of Tampa Historic Districts
Historic district maps show the boundaries of the local and national districts
Port Tampa Bay
Port Tampa Bay information
Tampa Bay Area Beaches
