Sell Your Commercial Property In Orlando, FL

Who rents in Orlando

Orlando had an estimated 319,758 residents in the 2020–2024 American Community Survey, in 131,179 occupied homes. Renters held 79,351 of them, a 60.5% share, higher than Tampa or Jacksonville at 49.7% and 42.4%. Across Orange County, home to 1,471,937 people, the share falls to 43.2%. Median household income was $72,336 in the city and $79,719 in the county.

Tourism shapes the workforce. Yardi Matrix data for February 2026 put metro leisure and hospitality employment at 328,000, or 18.6% of jobs, ahead of professional and business services at 312,000 and trade, transportation and utilities at 309,000. Nearby Kissimmee, where 53.7% of households rent and the median household income is $53,758, shows how much of that workforce depends on rental housing.

The University of Central Florida is the second anchor. UCF enrolled 70,674 students in fall 2025, the largest enrollment of any Florida university, and employs 13,708 people. On-campus and affiliated housing holds 12,280 students, including 641 at UCF Downtown, so most students rent privately. The main campus sits 13 miles east of downtown, so many student renters live outside city limits, while UCF Downtown adds demand closer to the urban core.

Rents and affordability

Median gross rent in Orlando was $1,747 over 2020–2024. Affordability is a constraint: 55.8% of renter households spend 30% or more of income on rent and utilities, and 29.1% spend half or more. In Kissimmee, the share at 30% or more rises to 67.0%, and 41.9% of renters there spend half or more of income on housing.

Sources: Census Reporter tables for Orlando, Orange County and Kissimmee.

Market asking rents have turned up after a soft year. Yardi Matrix reported the metro average at $1,767 as of May 2026, up 0.2% over three months after nine months of flat or negative movement. HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rents for the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford MSA are $1,650 for a studio, $1,731 for a one-bedroom, $1,972 for a two-bedroom and $2,476 for a three-bedroom. Those figures set voucher payment levels, and the FY2027 schedule took effect October 1, 2026.

The apartment stock

Orlando has 148,754 housing units, and ACS table B25024 shows 74,006 of them in buildings of five or more units. Unlike Tampa, where complexes of 50+ units hold the most apartments, Orlando's mid-size band dominates: 21,519 units sit in 10–19 unit buildings and 16,812 in 20–49 unit buildings, against 20,581 in complexes of 50 or more and 15,094 in 5–9 unit buildings. That is a deep pool of the 10–50 unit properties that individual owners and smaller syndicates typically hold.

The city also holds a large share of the county's apartments. Orange County has 175,235 units in 5+ unit buildings, so Orlando accounts for about 42% of them while housing about 22% of the county's residents. Outside the city, the county's housing is far more single-family, with only 29.9% of homes in 5+ unit buildings. For a seller, that density means more comparable sales and rent data close by, but also more nearby competition when a new complex opens.

The stock is relatively young. The median year built is 1992, and table B25034 shows 32.6% of units predate 1980 while 19.7% were built in 2010 or later. Buildings from the 1980s and 1990s are now reaching the age when roofs, HVAC systems and plumbing need replacement, and buyers will want those records.

New supply

Supply remains heavy. Yardi Matrix reported 3,792 units completed across the metro in 2026 through May, 1.3% of existing stock and almost double the U.S. completion rate. Stabilized occupancy was 93.7% in April, down 70 basis points from a year earlier. Transactions totaled $347 million through May, and the average price slipped to $174,502 per unit.

Employment is still growing, unlike in Tampa and Jacksonville. Yardi reported metro jobs up 0.5% in the year to February 2026, with leisure and hospitality adding 8,600 positions and education and health services 8,000. Unemployment was 4.5% in April, 20 basis points above the national rate. Education and health services, which includes UCF's medical school and the region's hospital systems, accounted for 249,000 jobs, or 14.1% of the total, and government another 173,000. Those sectors add demand that does not follow the tourist calendar. The county's $560 million Convention Center Grand Concourse expansion, with a new 100,000-square-foot ballroom, is expected to create more than 800 construction jobs.

The Live Local Act adds another source of new units. Under s. 196.1978, new projects with more than 70 units set aside for income-qualified households can exempt those units from property tax: fully at or below 80% of area median income and 75% for 80–120%, with rents capped at the lower of the program chart or 90% of market.

Property taxes on apartment buildings in Orange County

The Orange County Property Appraiser sets just value each January 1, as s. 192.042 requires. Apartment buildings of 10 or more units fall under s. 193.1555, which caps annual assessed-value growth at 10% for all levies except school taxes; 2–9 unit buildings get the same cap under s. 193.1554. Both reset on a change of ownership.

The 2025 final millage chart shows the City of Orlando's rate at 6.6500 mills, with total millage inside the city ranging from 18.0878 to 19.2844 depending on the mill code. Winter Park parcels ran 15.3615, and most unincorporated codes fell between 16.0858 and 19.4681. Owners can appeal a value to the Value Adjustment Board within 25 days of the TRIM notice under s. 194.011. Deeds pay documentary stamp tax of 70 cents per $100 under s. 201.02.

Landlord rules

Orlando and Orange County cannot cap rents under s. 166.043 and s. 125.0103, and s. 83.425 preempts local tenancy rules. Under the state act, deposits must be returned within 15 days or claimed in writing within 30 under s. 83.49; nonpayment notices give three days, excluding weekends and legal holidays, under s. 83.56; and month-to-month tenancies need 30 days' notice under s. 83.57. Leases over six months are exempt from sales tax per the Department of Revenue, which matters near the tourist corridor, where short stays are taxed.

What this means if you own a building here

An Orlando seller benefits from a large renter base and growing jobs but faces heavy new supply and thin sales volume. Buyers will compare your rents with new lease-up concessions, reset taxes to their price at 18 to 19 mills, and price insurance for the building's age. A 1980s 16-unit property with documented roof and HVAC work will hold value better than one with deferred items, even at the same rents.

Model the effect of those changes with our cap rate calculator, or estimate after-tax proceeds with the capital gains tax calculator. Skyline Capital Investments buys 5+ unit buildings across Orlando and its suburbs, listed or off-market; our seller page explains how we underwrite.

Before you list, collect the last two TRIM notices, a rent roll that shows deposits held under s. 83.49, current insurance declarations and any wind-mitigation report. If short-term or furnished units are part of the mix, separate them on the operating statement, since buyers treat that income and its sales tax differently from standard leases.