Faro Labs / Markets / Tampa, FL
Tampa real estate investment market
What a typical rental in Tampa, Florida costs, rents for, and returns: underwritten by Faro's own engine, not a scraped summary.
Returns assume 20% down at 6.75% over 30 years, 7% vacancy, and standard operating costs: Faro's default assumptions, the same ones every report starts from. Home value and rent trends as of 2026-05-31.
Difficult for both
At market rent, a typical Tampa rental runs $706 short each month, and home values moved −3.3% over the last year. Neither leg is carrying deals right now, which means the ones that work here are bought well below market rather than at it.
The price a deal actually works at
Faro models five price points for Tampa, from a weak buy to a strong one. The market-rate deal is $379,284; a good buy is $341,356 and a great one $303,427 roughly 20% below market value. Those are the bars a specific listing gets measured against when you run it.
How Tampa compares
Of the 210 markets Faro publishes, Tampa is the 108th most expensive to buy into: 5% below the median covered market, and the 51st strongest on rent-to-price. Within Florida it's the 7th priciest of 16 markets we cover. On the last year of home-value change it ranks 184th.
To break even at the default financing, a typical Tampa property would need about $3,093 a month in rent: $872 more than the $2,221 the market currently supports.
What each tier costs in Tampa
Faro models five price points per market. A listing gets measured against these bars, not against a national average.
| Tier | Purchase price | Market rent | vs. market rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weak buy | $417,212 | $2,110/mo | +10% |
| Fair buy | $398,248 | $2,177/mo | +5% |
| Market rate | $379,284 | $2,221/mo | — |
| Good buy | $341,356 | $2,332/mo | -10% |
| Great buy | $303,427 | $2,443/mo | -20% |
A typical Tampa deal, underwritten
The market-rate property above, run through the same engine every Faro report uses.
| Purchase price | $379,284 |
|---|---|
| Monthly rent | $2,221 |
| Cash required (20% down + 3% closing) | $87,235 |
| Net operating income | $15,141/yr |
| Monthly cash flow | -$706 |
| Cap rate | 4.0% |
| Cash-on-cash return | −9.7% |
| DSCR | 0.64 |
Values are falling here
Home values in Tampa moved 3.3% DOWN over the last year, measured as the median across 16 ZIP codes. That reverses the usual argument for a low-cash-flow buy: there's no appreciation currently carrying the deal, so a property here has to earn its keep on rent, and a typical one produces a $706 monthly shortfall. Falling values also mean today's comp-supported price is a moving target. The discount you negotiate matters more than usual.
What it would take to break even
A typical Tampa property would need about $3,093 a month to cover itself at the default financing: 39% above the $2,221 the market currently supports. That gap is the honest size of the problem: it isn't closed by trimming an expense line, it's closed by buying meaningfully below market, putting more down, or finding a property that rents well above its market's median.
Negotiation matters more than usual here
The gap between a market-rate Tampa buy at $379,284 and a strong one at $303,427 is 20%: a wide band. In markets with a spread that size, what you pay relative to comps drives the return more than the market's own direction does. Two buyers in the same city, the same month, can end up with completely different deals.
Tampa investor questions
Is Tampa a good place to buy rental property?
A typical Tampa rental at $379,284 renting for $2,221 a month returns 4.0% on a cap-rate basis and runs short by $706 a month at 20% down. Individual deals vary far more than markets do, which is the whole reason to underwrite a specific address.
Can you cash-flow a rental in Tampa?
Not at the market's own price and rent. A typical property runs $706 short each month. It would need about $3,093 in rent to break even. Deals that work here are bought below market rather than at it, which is what the price ladder above is for.
Are Tampa home prices dropping?
Yes: values moved down 3.3% over the last year, taken as the median across 16 ZIP codes in the city. That makes the price you negotiate matter more than usual, since the comp-supported value you're measuring against is itself moving.
Are rents going up in Tampa?
Rents moved up 0.3% over the last year, measured across 16 ZIP codes. The typical market-rate rental sits at $2,221 a month.
Other Florida markets
Run the numbers yourself
A market average is not a deal.
Paste a real Tampa listing and Faro underwrites that specific property from its own comps, with a target price you can actually offer.
Estimates for analysis and educational use only: not financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Verify every number independently before making a purchase decision.