Sell Your Commercial Property In St. Petersburg, FL

Who rents in St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg had an estimated 262,732 residents in the 2020–2024 American Community Survey, living in 119,244 occupied homes. Renters held 44,329 of them, a 37.2% share. Across Pinellas County, the rate is 30.5%, so the city carries a heavier rental load than the beach towns and suburbs around it. The county has 963,481 residents and 130,561 renter households, which puts about one in three Pinellas renters inside St. Petersburg.

Median household income in the city was $75,192, a little above the county's $72,646. The ACS also counts 141,508 housing units in the city but only 119,244 occupied as a main residence, a gap of about 22,300 units that were vacant, for sale, for rent or held seasonally when surveyed. Buyers of older waterfront and downtown buildings will ask how many of a property's leases are year-round.

Demand comes from a mix of employers rather than one dominant one. Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital reports 259 licensed beds and 4,271 employees at its St. Petersburg campus, and USF St. Petersburg occupies 52 waterfront acres downtown with three residence halls. Hospital staff and students add to a renter pool that also draws on downtown office and service jobs.

Rents and affordability

Median gross rent, which includes utilities, was $1,663 in St. Petersburg over 2020–2024, close to Pinellas County's $1,642. Affordability is stretched: 55.2% of the city's renter households pay at least 30% of income for rent, and 27.8% pay half or more. The county figures are similar, at 56.7% and 29.0%. In household terms, about 12,300 St. Petersburg renter households spend half their income or more on housing, which shows up in collections and turnover for owners of older, lower-rent buildings.

HUD's fair market rents for the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater MSA set the payment standard most housing voucher programs start from. They run above the city's survey median for every size larger than a studio:

Source: HUD FY2026 FMR schedule. FY2027 figures took effect October 1, 2026. For a building with many voucher tenants, the FMR is a useful check on whether in-place rents leave room to grow.

The apartment stock

According to ACS table B25024, 45,263 of St. Petersburg's housing units, or 32.0%, are in buildings with five or more units. The mix leans toward mid-size and large properties: 16,674 units are in buildings of 50 or more, 11,298 in 10–19 unit buildings, 9,226 in 20–49 unit buildings and 8,065 in 5–9 unit buildings. Detached single-family houses make up 55.3% of the stock, and two-to-four unit buildings another 7.0%.

Age is the defining feature. The median year built is 1969, against 1977 for the county. Per table B25034, 70.1% of the city's units were built before 1980, 37.0% before 1960 and 9.0% before 1940. The 1950s alone account for 32,033 units, 22.6% of the stock, the largest of any decade. Only 8.4% of units date from 2010 or later.

The city's mix differs from the county's. Across Pinellas, 30.1% of units are in 5+ unit buildings and 11.0% in buildings of 50 or more, close to the city's figures, but 9.0% of county homes are mobile homes against 2.2% in St. Petersburg. The city's apartments are older, too: the county's median year built is 1977. Owners in Old Northeast, Kenwood, the Grand Central District and Childs Park are usually selling buildings from the city's prewar and postwar decades. Buyers of that stock focus on roofs, electrical panels, cast-iron or galvanized plumbing and window openings, because insurers ask about each before they quote.

New supply and incentives

New construction is a small share of the stock: 2,365 units, 1.7%, were built in 2020 or later, and 9,466 more in the 2010s. Two programs shape what does get built. Under the state Live Local Act, s. 196.1978 exempts new projects with more than 70 units set aside for income-qualified households, fully for units at or below 80% of area median income and at 75% for units at 80–120%.

St. Petersburg also adopted the local option in s. 196.1979 of the Florida Statutes through Ordinance 561-H, effective November 2, 2023. The city's program applies to properties with at least 50 units where at least 20% are rented to households at or below 60% of AMI at state rent limits. New construction can receive 100% or 75% relief from city taxes, and existing buildings 50% with special circumstances. The 2026 application window runs November 2 to December 31. For an owner of a 50+ unit property, eligibility can change what a buyer will pay.

Property taxes on apartment buildings in Pinellas County

The Pinellas County Property Appraiser assesses each parcel at just value as of January 1 under s. 192.042. Buildings of 10 or more units fall under s. 193.1555, which caps annual increases in assessed value at 10% for non-school levies; buildings of 2–9 units get the same cap under s. 193.1554. School taxes apply to full just value, and both caps reset on a change of ownership.

The Pinellas County Tax Collector's 2025 millage table lists a total of 19.9197 mills for real estate in St. Petersburg. That includes 6.4525 city mills, 4.6136 county general mills, 6.2930 school mills and 0.7300 for the transit district, plus water management, juvenile welfare and other countywide levies. Unincorporated Pinellas totals 15.3229. A building valued at $3 million would face roughly $59,800 a year at the city rate once a sale resets its assessment.

Valuation appeals go to the Pinellas Value Adjustment Board within 25 days of the TRIM notice under s. 194.011. Deeds carry documentary stamp tax of 70 cents per $100 under s. 201.02, or $21,000 on a $3 million sale.

Landlord rules and local compliance

St. Petersburg cannot cap rents: s. 166.043 and s. 125.0103 bar local rent controls except for land-use measures that add affordable housing. Since 2023, s. 83.425 preempts local regulation of residential tenancies, including screening, deposits, fees and notices, so city-level tenant rules no longer apply on top of state law.

Under the state act, deposits are uncapped but must be returned within 15 days or claimed in writing within 30 days under s. 83.49. Nonpayment requires a three-day notice that excludes weekends and legal holidays, per s. 83.56, and month-to-month tenancies end on 30 days' notice under s. 83.57. Leases of six months or less owe state sales tax plus local tourist tax, per the Department of Revenue, which matters for owners who rent furnished units seasonally near the beaches or downtown.

What this means if you own a building here

A St. Petersburg seller is offering a share of the county's largest renter base, with rents close to the metro FMR and steady employment demand. The trade-offs are age and carrying costs: most buildings predate 1980, the total millage near 20 applies to a reset assessment after sale, and insurers ask for roof, wiring and plumbing documentation. Buyers will price all three. Our apartment building value calculator shows how a higher tax line changes value, and the 1031 exchange calculator helps if you plan to reinvest.

Skyline Capital Investments buys 5+ unit buildings across St. Petersburg in any condition, listed or off-market. Our seller page explains how we underwrite. Before talking to any buyer, gather the last two TRIM notices, a current rent roll that separates annual from short-term leases, deposit records, insurance declarations, wind mitigation and four-point inspection reports, and permits for any storm repairs.