Sell Your Commercial Property In Hillsborough County, FL

Who rents in Hillsborough County

Renters head 224,630 of the 583,192 occupied households in Hillsborough County, a 38.5% share in the 2020-2024 ACS. Owners hold the larger group, at 358,562 households. Across Florida, renters make up only 32.4% of households, so Hillsborough County runs well above the state norm.

Tampa carries most of that renter base. The city counts 82,595 renter households, about 36.8% of the Hillsborough County total, and a 49.7% renter share of its own. Temple Terrace posts an almost identical 49.6% renter share. Plant City leans more toward owners, with renters at 33.6% of its households, close to the Hillsborough County average.

Rents, growth and affordability

Hillsborough County's median gross rent climbed 46.0%, from $1,142 to $1,667, between the 2015-2019 and 2020-2024 surveys. Population grew far more slowly over the same span, up 7.1% to 1,522,748 residents, an increase of 100,470 people. Renter households rose a modest 3.1%, adding 6,672 households.

Apartment supply grew too. Units in 5+ unit buildings in Hillsborough County rose 7.2%, an increase of 9,805 units. That pace still lags rent growth, and helps explain a 6.4% rental vacancy rate, below the 7.6% Florida rate in the same survey.

Rent burden runs high. In the 2020-2024 ACS, 57.9% of Hillsborough County renters paid 30% or more of income on gross rent. HUD's FY2027 two-bedroom Fair Market Rent for the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area is $1,917, effective October 1, 2026, a full $250 above the county's median gross rent.

On price, Hillsborough County tracks the state closely. Its $1,667 median gross rent sits almost level with the $1,669 Florida figure. The real gap shows up in vacancy, where Hillsborough County runs tighter than the state as a whole.

City-by-city comparison

Tampa dominates the apartment stock, with 34.1% of its housing units in 5+ unit buildings, well above the Hillsborough County rate of 23.0%. Temple Terrace runs even higher, at 37.7%. The wider Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area, which extends beyond Hillsborough County lines, sits lower on both rent and density than Tampa itself.

Vacancy varies sharply inside Hillsborough County. Temple Terrace posts just 2.2% and Plant City 3.7%, both well under the county's 6.4% rate. Tampa's 5.8% vacancy sits close to the county figure, while the broader metro area runs looser, at 7.1%.

Rent ranges from $1,409 in Plant City to $1,701 in Tampa. Temple Terrace pairs a near-50% renter share with the tightest vacancy in the table, a combination that favors sellers with stabilized buildings. Plant City's smaller renter pool of 4,912 households means its figures carry a wider survey margin.

Property taxes and assessment in Hillsborough County

Hillsborough County reassesses real property, including apartment buildings, at just value each January 1, under the statewide assessment framework that applies across Florida. Non-homestead property, which covers rental and commercial buildings, can rise in assessed value by up to 10% per year under the state's constitutional cap, with no ceiling tied to a prior sale price.

The Hillsborough County Property Appraiser sets each parcel's assessed value, and the county, cities, school district and special districts then apply their own millage rates on top of it. A seller's current tax bill is a starting point for a buyer's underwriting, not the number a buyer will pay once the parcel is reassessed after sale.

Florida charges a documentary stamp tax on deeds at $0.70 per $100 of consideration statewide, a cost that typically falls on the seller at closing in Hillsborough County unless the contract states otherwise.

What this means if you sell in Hillsborough County

When you sell commercial property in Hillsborough County, FL, you sell into a renter-heavy market. Renters hold 38.5% of households, above the 32.4% Florida share, and 23.0% of units sit in 5+ unit buildings. The county's 6.4% rental vacancy rate, tighter than the 7.6% state rate, is a point in a seller's favor. Buyers will still test your rent roll against Tampa's looser 5.8% vacancy or Temple Terrace's tighter 2.2%, depending on where your building sits.

Taxes come next. Buyers underwrite the post-sale assessment, not your current bill, since Hillsborough County property resets at just value each January 1 and non-homestead increases are capped at 10% annually rather than reset to a sale price outright. Florida law also preempts local rent control outside a narrow voter-approved emergency process, so rent levels in Hillsborough County stay market-driven.

As a multifamily buyer and an active commercial real estate buyer in Hillsborough County, we review 5+ unit buildings from Tampa to Plant City as they stand today. Send a current rent roll, a T-12 and the latest tax statement, and we will price the building on those numbers.