What Are Cell Tower Lease Rates Today?
What Are Cell Tower Lease Rates Today & How Can You Get the Best Cell Tower Lease Rates in 2023, When Negotiating A Cell Tower or Cell Site Lease?
Want to get the best cell tower lease rates in 2023? Typically property owners get proposals for new cell towers and new rooftop cell sites in the first half of the year. And then they work on them during the second half of the year. But really, you can get the at any time. It’s important to note that not all cell tower rental prices will be apples to apples comparisons. There is a difference between a cell site lease when a carrier like Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile Sprint, DISH Wireless or AT&T offer to lease space on a rooftop, billboard, church steeple, grain silo, water tank, smokestack or utility transmission tower. The big wireless carriers are no longer in the business of owning and managing cell tower portfolios. In 2023 you can expect that 80 to 90% of cell tower ground lease proposals where the construction of a monopole, lattice or guyed wire tower will be constructed will be made by a smaller cell tower developer who is building a tower for their subtenant, who will be Verizon, DISH, AT&T or T-Mobile Sprint, and which will be sold to a large tower company such as SBA Communications, Vertical Bridge, Crown Castle or American Tower.
Have You Received A Cell Tower Lease Proposal In 2023?
When you receive a cell tower or cell site proposal in 2023, you should ask the leasing agent if the lease agreement or lease option agreement will be directly with the carrier, or will the lease agreement be directly with a cell tower management company? This is important to know because the cell tower developers have limitations on how much they can pay tenants in annual rent, whereas the direct carrier wireless leases can be more lucrative, but not always.
So, what are average cell phone tower lease rates in 2023?
Cell tower lease rates for 2023 vary by location and they are site specific. We can tell you that the average offers made to most rural land owners by tower developers for a 40 to 50-year lease agreement is approximately $500 to $600 per month, with 7.5% to 10% rental increases every 5-year term. These of course are probably not the business terms that you want to accept.
Here is a sampling of very recent 2023 cell tower lease rates on newly proposed and on existing site renewals we have seen recently:
Rural New Mexico: 30-year cell tower developer lease for $900 / month with zero rent increases for a new tower.
Manhattan, NYC: $5,500 / month + AT&T trying to a rent reduction prior to lease expiration
Milwaukee, WI: $1,033 / month 2-carrier Crown Castle tower
Hartford County, CT: $65,000 / year expired 20+ year old AT&T lease
Seattle Metro, WA: $700/month new AT&T lease
Denver Metro, CO: $2,350 / month
New Verizon leaseUnion County, NJ: $500 / month
New T-Mobile ground lease Morgan County, Indiana: $1,125 / month
New DISH Wireless offers… rooftop NYC Suburb, Long Island, Brooklyn, Essex County NJ, Southern Connecticut, Central Connecticut, Long Island, Lower Manhattan, Tri-Cities WA, Denver, Seattle, New Hanover County NC…. (call Tower Genius).
In 2023 and every year, cell tower lease rates are determined on a site by site basis.
Factors that influence the value of a cell tower land lease or rooftop cell site lease are primarily the type of lease, direct carrier or tower company lease, zoning determination, topography, and the availability of qualifying potential sites. The lower fewer sites are available to choose from, the more leverage one has in a lease negotiation to obtain a higher rental price and preferable terms.
2023 Cell Tower Developer Rental Rates
In 2022 most proposed cell tower developer rental rates will range from $500 to $900 per month, and most direct carrier leases will range from $700 to $2,000 per month for macro cell sites. These are the offers that we see coming into our office on a regular basis.
2023 5G Small Cell Rental Rates
For small cells, which are smaller 1 to 2 antenna installations, where carriers can’t utilize utility poles in public right of ways, they will usually only offer most property owners $100 to $250 per month to rent a 5G small cell, although this amount can be a bit higher depending on the location. Carriers can lease small cell nodes in public right of ways for only $270 per year. This does not apply to rooftops however.
Tower Genius is a cell tower lease consulting and transactional coaching firm that helps telecom landlords and property owners navigate their way through the complicated process of negotiating a cell tower lease agreement. If you have any questions about how much you should be asking for your new cell tower agreement on a monthly basis, or your mature cell tower lease is nearing final expiration and you need to extend it, or you are considering selling your rental stream payment, contact Tower Genius Partners Kevin Donohue or Steve Kazella and schedule 30-minute cell tower lease strategy session and get your questions answered.
The wireless carriers and tower companies have wireless industry specialists helping them, shouldn’t cell tower landlords have the USA’s top cell tower consultancy in their corner?