RE Development: 3 Fla. Cities in U.S. Top 20

ORLANDO, Fla. – A study of real estate development based on U.S. Census Bureau data covering the last decade finds Texas cities in the top five spots, but three Florida cities are close behind: Jacksonville ranks at No. 7, Orlando at No. 11 and Tampa No. 15.

The analysis from StorageCafe, Yardi Matrix and Commercial Edge found that 15 of the top 20 cities with the highest volumes of real estate construction from 2013 to 2022 were Southern or Southwestern urban hotspots. Texas, however, is “now in a league of its own and boasts the top five best cities for real estate construction.”

For the analysis, researchers say they considered building permits for single-family homes and multifamily units, and new deliveries of square footage in the industrial, office, retail and self-storage sectors – and the self-storage sector saw strong growth.

I’ve asked Doug Ressler, business intelligence manager at Yardi Matrix, a research firm and our sister division, to provide some insights on the state of the development market and self-storage in particular:

“In the face of the recent headwinds felt across the real estate sector, industrial, multifamily and self-storage remained the most preferred commercial assets,” says Doug Ressler, business intelligence manager at Yardi Matrix. “The self-storage sector is currently performing well with new supply at healthy levels and demand stabilizing after the pandemic-induced spike. Street rates are still down year-over-year but the drop is moderating as the prime moving season kicks in. In fact, the average rent for a standard unit is slightly up from the previous month and now sits at $127 per month.”

5 most active Florida cities, 2013-2022

1. Jacksonville

• Single-family permits: 37,000
• Industrial space: 18.7 million square feet
• Self-storage space: 2.6 million square feet

2. Orlando

• Retail space: 8.8 million square feet
• Industrial space: 22 million square feet
• Self-storage space: square feet

3. Tampa

• Retail space: 3.2 million square feet
• Self-storage space: 2.1 million square feet
• Multifamily permits: 21,500

4. Miami

• Self-storage space: 4.7 million square feet
• Retail space: 9.1 million square feet
• Multifamily permits: 45,800

5. St. Petersburg

• Multifamily permits: 9,700
• Self-storage space: 975,000 square feet
• Retail space: 1M square feet