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Balanced

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

A softer for-sale market with still-useful rent coverage if basis and insurance cooperate.

Last updated 2026-07-31

D51/100
Below-average marketD grade · 51/100 market scoreNeeds tighter selectivity and stronger basis than the average market.

Tampa now looks more negotiable than during the surge years. The rent line has cooled, but the rent-to-value relationship is still materially stronger than the higher-cost coastal metros.

Analyze a property in this marketBack to marketsAverage deal analysis in Tampa

Average deal benchmark

Average deal in this market

This is the quick market-level baseline for what a typical deal looks like before you underwrite a real address.

Typical priceVerified
$361,634Typical market home value
Typical rentVerified
$2,013Average monthly rent
Rent-to-valueEstimated
6.68%Gross annual rent divided by home value
1-year rent trendVerified
-0.5%Recent rent direction

Verified metrics come from sourced market files. Estimated metrics are derived from those inputs.

Strategy fit

What's working in this market

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is showing a balanced market profile with an overall score of 51/100, placing it on the watch list rather than in clearly strong buy territory. The typical home value is $361,634, while average rent is $2,013, producing rent-to-value strength of 6.68%. That suggests rental income is present, but not strong enough by itself to make every deal obvious.

The market also looks negotiable on the pricing side: home values are down 2.2% over 1 year, and price-vs-rent pressure is -1.8%. At the same time, rents are slightly softer, with a 1-year rent trend of -0.5%, so investors should be careful about assuming rent growth will rescue a thin deal. The insurance-sensitive tag also means expense assumptions matter a lot here, especially for investors focused on cash flow.

Which strategy this favors

This market currently favors selective buy-and-hold investors more than aggressive flip or BRRRR strategies. The balanced classification, 6.68% rent-to-value strength, $2,013 average rent, and declining home values suggest there may be negotiable long-term rental opportunities, but the -0.5% rent trend and 51/100 score argue for disciplined underwriting rather than chasing appreciation or forced-growth assumptions.

Generated from this market's real Zillow-backed metrics only — not a recommendation, and not informed by facts about the city beyond the numbers shown above.

County snapshot

Local context inside the market

These counties add local context after the market screen. Use them to see where conditions look stronger or weaker before you underwrite a specific address.

County overlays are loading for this market.

Hernando County · 62/100

Home value: $310,262Average rent: $1,835Rent-to-value: 7.10%

Pasco County · 61/100

Home value: $331,637Average rent: $2,025Rent-to-value: 7.33%

Pinellas County · 51/100

Home value: $374,245Average rent: $2,023Rent-to-value: 6.49%

Hillsborough County · 44/100

Home value: $380,147Average rent: $2,016Rent-to-value: 6.36%

Sourced metrics

What the sourced market data says

Rating breakdown

How the screening score is built

Rent-to-value strength50% weight
6.68%Higher rent-to-value ratios improve the first-pass screen.
1-year rent trend25% weight
-0.5%Positive rent growth improves the score.
Price-vs-rent pressure25% weight
-1.8%When home values run ahead of rents, the score gets penalized.

Underwriting

What this means for deal analysis

  • Use current insurance pricing and flood-zone checks early because they can reshape the deal faster than the rent snapshot can save it.
  • The county view helps separate stronger coastal and inland pockets, but you still need listing-level diligence.
  • Metro rents remain supportive enough for screening, but you still need listing-level rent comps before trusting the upside.
Verify before you buy

Market averages are a screen, not a verdict

  • Verify flood exposure and current insurance quotes before final underwriting.
  • Check whether the target county is overbuilt relative to the broader Tampa snapshot.
  • Run rent assumptions against current competing inventory, not just historical lease data.
Methodology

How this page is built

  • Numeric market metrics are pulled from Zillow Research metro files at build time, not copied by hand.
  • County context uses Zillow Research county files plus Census TIGERweb county polygons so the local snapshot maps to real boundaries.
  • The overall market score is a transparent screening heuristic built from rent-to-value, 1-year rent trend, and price-vs-rent pressure.
  • Unsupported metrics such as days-to-pending are intentionally removed instead of scraped or inferred.

Zillow Research ZHVI metro file

Metro home values as of 2026-07-31.

Open sourceAccessed 2026-09-15

Zillow Research ZORI metro file

Metro rents as of 2026-07-31.

Open sourceAccessed 2026-09-15

Zillow Research ZHVI county file

County home values used for the supporting county snapshot.

Open sourceAccessed 2026-09-15

Zillow Research ZORI county file

County rents used for the supporting county snapshot.

Open sourceAccessed 2026-09-15

Census TIGERweb county polygons

Official county boundaries used to render the city-level map footprint.

Open sourceAccessed 2026-09-15

Zillow research definitions

Reference definitions for Zillow housing and rent market metrics.

Open sourceAccessed 2026-09-15
FAQ

Common questions

Why does this page show a score at all?

The market score is a transparent screening heuristic built from Zillow Research home-value, rent-trend, and rent-to-value inputs. It is not a buy recommendation or a substitute for address-level underwriting.

What do the county snapshots represent?

The page shows county-level snapshots inside the market footprint so you can see where conditions look stronger or weaker. Treat them as supporting context, not automatic buy boxes.

What should I do after reading this page?

Use the page to decide whether the market deserves deeper attention, then run a real property-level analysis inside InstantlyAnalyze before making an offer.