Tampa Bay renters struggle as private equity firms buy apartments
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Private equity firms own nearly a quarter of Tampa Bay apartments, according to a new report.
Why it matters: Communities with high shares of private equity-owned housing tend to have more residents struggling to pay rent, per the report from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a nonprofit that tracks the industry.
Case in point: The share of Tampa Bay renters who spend 30% or more of their income on rent and utilities has increased from about half in 2019 to 61% in 2023, according to the report.
- That's the largest increase among the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S.
The big picture: Private equity firms in recent years have bought up more and more properties across the U.S. — especially in the Sun Belt, the report says.
- Nationwide, they own more than 8,200 apartment buildings with 2.2 million units. Two-thirds, or 1.4 million of those units, have been acquired since 2018.
What they're saying: "These investment companies have capitalized on rising housing demand and limited supply," the report says.
- "This has exacerbated housing affordability issues, displacing local communities through large rent hikes and aggressive evictions, and diminishing tenants' quality of life."
State of play: Tampa Bay is among the metropolitan areas that have experienced this phenomenon the most, with 56,683 private equity-owned units, or about 23% of total apartments in the area.
- The region ranks just below Orlando, with about 24% of apartments owned by private equity, and Jacksonville, with about 20%.
- Raleigh-Cary in North Carolina ranked the highest with 35%.
Between the lines: Investors backed by private equity have also been buying up single-family homes, the Tampa Bay Times reported last year in its series "Buying Up the Bay."
- Investors own 27,000 homes across Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties, the Times found. The analysis linked 70% of those properties to investors backed by Wall Street and private equity.