12/17/2025
“Renting is 100% interest.”
Yes, I know — that’s the cliché residential agents love to blurt out.
But here I am saying the exact same thing when applied to Phase II of our Flex/Industrial project we just launched in North St. Augustine, because in small-bay industrial, it’s not a slogan — it’s just math.
Industrial & flex rents in St. Johns County are still growing, and the Jacksonville metro has been THE (Not one of, the #1) strongest industrial rent-growth markets in the entire country for almost 5 years. 2026 is shaping up to be no different.
This also isn’t the “DR Horton built an entire neighborhood and half the cul-de-sac is still empty” situation.
Industrial is getting sold before the building is even in the ground- our Phase I was sold before we even put the shell on to an owner-occupant.
So what does this mean for a small business owner occupying a small-bay flex space?
It means if you keep renting, you’ll keep writing bigger checks every year — and in five years, rent growth and pricing are likely still going to be sticky.
So what’s the actual math?
Example: 1,330 SF entry-level unit
Purchase price: $349,000
Assume SBA 25-year loan with 10% down
OWN (principal + interest):
≈ $2,024 per month
(10% down = $34,900; loan ≈ $314,100)
Now compare that to leasing:
Market rent at $19/SF:
1,330 SF × $19 = $25,270 per year
≈ $2,106 per month (Year 1)
But here’s the part people keep missing:
Your loan payment is basically fixed.
Your rent is not.
On a 5-year lease with 3% annual escalations, that same space looks like this:
Year 1: $2,106 / month
Year 2: $2,169 / month
Year 3: $2,234 / month
Year 4: $2,301 / month
Year 5: $2,370 / month
Meanwhile, the owner is still paying roughly $2,024 per month in principal and interest in Year 1… Year 3… Year 5.
By the back half of a normal lease term, you’re paying $300+ more per month(and almost $13,000 more over the whole 5 years) than the owning scenario — and you still don’t own anything. In the own scenario- you've paid down the mortgage almost $35k and paid about $13000 less overall over the last 5 years.
If you want predictable occupancy costs and you’d rather build your own retirement plan rather than the landlord’s retirement plan, DM us and I’ll run the numbers for your specific bay size.
Listing here: https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/6918-US-Highway-1-N-Saint-Augustine-FL/38609994/
*Figures shown are illustrative estimates for comparison purposes only and do not include closing costs, or financing fees. Actual terms, payments, rates, and costs will vary based on lender, borrower qualifications, and final *loan structure.
