Permanent September 2026 edition
Tampa Bay Rental Market Report: September 2026
In September 2026 the typical monthly asking rent in the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater metro was $1,991, up 0.4% from September 2025, according to the Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI). Across the United States it was up 2.7%. Within the metro, houses and apartments moved in opposite directions: single-family asking rents were up 1.7% and multifamily asking rents were down 0.5%.
On the for-sale side, median list prices were down 7.1% in Hillsborough County and down 6.9% in Pasco County, according to Realtor.com® Economic Research. BayTown Property Management compiles this report every month from public data, with a link to every source.
This is the September 2026 edition, kept at a permanent address so its figures can be cited. The latest report is always at the Tampa rental market report page.
The numbers at a glance
| Measure | September 2026 | Change from a year earlier | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical asking rent per month, all rental homes, Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater metro | $1,991 | +0.4% | Zillow Research (ZORI) |
| Typical asking rent per month, single-family, Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater metro | $2,390 | +1.7% | Zillow Research (ZORI) |
| Typical asking rent per month, multifamily, Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater metro | $1,774 | −0.5% | Zillow Research (ZORI) |
| Typical asking rent per month, all rental homes, United States | $1,932 | +2.7% | Zillow Research (ZORI) |
| Typical asking rent per month, Hillsborough County | $1,978 | −0.4% | Zillow Research (ZORI) |
| Typical asking rent per month, Pasco County | $1,985 | +0.1% | Zillow Research (ZORI) |
| Typical asking rent per month, Pinellas County | $2,028 | +1.7% | Zillow Research (ZORI) |
| Typical asking rent per month, Hernando County | $1,809 | +0.1% | Zillow Research (ZORI) |
| Median list price, Hillsborough County | $408,250 | −7.1% | Realtor.com® Economic Research |
| Median list price, Pasco County | $339,900 | −6.9% | Realtor.com® Economic Research |
| Median list price, Pinellas County | $417,450 | −3.6% | Realtor.com® Economic Research |
| Median list price, Hernando County | $350,000 | −2.8% | Realtor.com® Economic Research |
| Active for-sale listings, Hillsborough County | 6,284 | −2.0% | Realtor.com® Economic Research |
| Active for-sale listings, Pasco County | 3,852 | +4.3% | Realtor.com® Economic Research |
| Active for-sale listings, Pinellas County | 6,523 | −9.3% | Realtor.com® Economic Research |
| Active for-sale listings, Hernando County | 1,288 | −7.0% | Realtor.com® Economic Research |
| Median days on market, Hillsborough County | 71 | −3.4% | Realtor.com® Economic Research |
| Median days on market, Pasco County | 74 | −2.0% | Realtor.com® Economic Research |
| Median days on market, Pinellas County | 84 | −3.5% | Realtor.com® Economic Research |
| Median days on market, Hernando County | 72 | −9.2% | Realtor.com® Economic Research |
Sources: rents from Zillow Research (ZORI); listings from Realtor.com® Economic Research.
Asking rents: little change overall, houses up, apartments down
Across the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater metro, the typical monthly asking rent for all rental homes was $1,991 in September 2026, up 0.4% year over year and down 0.6% from the series high in April 2025. Nationally the same index was $1,932, up 2.7%.
Single-family rentals had a typical asking rent of $2,390, up 1.7% from September 2025. The reading was little changed from August 2026, about $1 higher, and sits at the top of the series' range since January 2015. The index is not adjusted for inflation, and Zillow can revise recent months.
Multifamily rentals (apartments and other buildings with several units) had a typical asking rent of $1,774, down 0.5% year over year and down 2.4% from the series high in April 2025.
Hillsborough and Pasco counties
In Hillsborough County the typical monthly asking rent was $1,978, down 0.4% year over year. In Pasco County it was $1,985, up 0.1%. Pasco's typical asking rent was about $7 higher than Hillsborough's.
This report focuses on Hillsborough and Pasco, the counties where BayTown manages homes. The table also shows Pinellas and Hernando, which complete the metro area.
For-sale listings: lower asking prices
In Hillsborough County the median list price was $408,250 in September 2026, down 7.1% year over year. There were 6,284 active listings, down 2.0%, and median days on market was 71, down 3.4% from a year earlier.
In Pasco County the median list price was $339,900, down 6.9%, with 3,852 active listings, up 4.3%, and median days on market of 74, down 2.0%.
A median list price is an asking price, not a sale price, and it also moves when the mix of homes for sale changes, so it is not the same as a change in what any one home is worth.
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What this means if you own a rental
These regional indexes do not set the rent for any one home or predict future rents. The metro's all-homes asking rent rose 0.4% in a year, while single-family and multifamily rents moved in different directions.
As general context, compare a home with similar rentals nearby, considering location, size, condition and lease terms. At an unchanged monthly rent, one vacant month is 8.3% of a year's gross rent, before expenses. If you are weighing selling against renting, use your own figures for financing, taxes, insurance, association fees, maintenance, vacancy, management and selling costs. These regional figures alone do not show which option is better.
How these figures are measured
Rents use the Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), the smoothed series (not seasonally adjusted). Zillow describes ZORI as a repeat-rent index of typical market-rate asking rents, weighted to the whole rental housing stock and expressed in dollars using the mean of listed rents between the 35th and 65th percentiles. They are asking rents, not the rent a particular tenant signs for. The all-homes index also includes condos, which are not shown separately. The Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater metro covers Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Hernando counties.
For-sale figures are from Realtor.com® Economic Research county inventory data and count homes listed on Realtor.com. List prices are asking prices, not sale prices. Realtor.com defines days on market as the median time between a property’s initial listing and its closing date or removal from the market. Year-over-year changes compare the month shown with the same month a year earlier. Series highs are the highest unrounded monthly reading since each series began. Dollar figures are rounded to the nearest dollar and changes to one decimal place.
This edition reports September 2026 figures from source files downloaded October 25, 2026. If a source revises its data, the next monthly edition uses the revised figures; earlier editions stay as published.
How to cite: BayTown Property Management analysis of Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI) and Realtor.com® Economic Research data, September 2026.
Permanent link to this edition: baytownpm.com/owners-guide/tampa-rental-market/2026-09/
Source files:
Questions owners ask
Are asking rents rising or falling in the Tampa metro?
Up slightly. In September 2026 the typical monthly asking rent in the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater metro was $1,991, up 0.4% from a year earlier, while the U.S. figure was up 2.7%, according to the Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI). Single-family asking rents were up 1.7% and multifamily asking rents were down 0.5%.
What is the typical asking rent for a single-family rental in the Tampa metro?
$2,390 a month in September 2026, according to the Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI). That is a regional asking-rent index; the rent for a specific home depends on its size, condition and neighborhood.
Are median list prices falling in Hillsborough and Pasco counties?
Yes, year over year. In September 2026 the median list price was $408,250 in Hillsborough County (down 7.1%) and $339,900 in Pasco County (down 6.9%), according to Realtor.com® Economic Research. These are asking prices, not sale prices, and they also move when the mix of homes for sale changes.
How often is this report updated?
A new report is published each month after Zillow and Realtor.com release their data. Each month's edition also stays at its own dated address, linked in the method section, and the table names the source of every figure.
Related pages
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Send your property ZIP. Emily replies personally with what it should rent for and every fee in writing, usually right away.
Last updated October 25, 2026