Orlando continues to rank among the top-performing Sun Belt metros heading into 2026, driven by a diversified economic base that extends well beyond its global tourism brand. The metro added over 55,000 jobs in 2024 and sustained that momentum into 2025, anchored by defense contractors at Lockheed Martin and L3Harris, the expanding Lake Nona Medical City cluster, and a fast-growing technology and simulation corridor tied to the University of Central Florida. With no state income tax, a relatively affordable cost of living compared to Miami and Tampa, and continued in-migration from the Northeast and Midwest, Orlando's commercial real estate fundamentals remain among the strongest in the Southeast. Institutional capital has taken notice, with transaction volume recovering sharply in 2025 and deal flow accelerating across industrial, multifamily, and retail.

Orlando Market Overview: Key Metrics

The Orlando commercial real estate market in 2026 reflects a market shaped by Tourism and hospitality, defense and aerospace, healthcare and life sciences, technology and simulation. Here are the key metrics investors and borrowers should know:

  • Multifamily Vacancy: 6.8% — near the national average with healthy absorption
  • Industrial Vacancy: 5.2% — reflecting strong logistics and distribution demand
  • Office Vacancy: 17.4%
  • Retail Vacancy: 4.9%
  • Rent Growth: 3.8% year-over-year
  • Job Growth: 3.2% — outpacing the national average
  • Population Growth: 2.6% annually
  • Median Asking Rent: $1,890

Multifamily Outlook in Orlando

Orlando's multifamily market is absorbing a significant supply wave with more resilience than many peer markets, with vacancy stabilizing near 6.8% as strong household formation and in-migration offset new deliveries. Effective rent growth has settled into the 3.5%-4.0% range after the outsized gains of 2021-2023, with the best performance concentrated in Lake Nona, Oviedo, and the Winter Garden/Horizon West corridor where job centers and retail amenities are driving leasing velocity. Value-add investors are actively targeting 1990s and early 2000s vintage garden-style communities in submarkets like Metrowest, Hunters Creek, and Semoran Boulevard where unit interiors remain unimproved and ownership is fragmented. Agency lenders including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA remain the dominant execution for stabilized assets, while bridge lenders are actively supporting lease-up and renovation plays across Orange and Seminole counties.

Industrial & Logistics Market

Orlando's industrial market is one of the tightest in Florida, with vacancy holding near 5.2% despite a meaningful development pipeline driven by e-commerce, logistics, and aerospace-related manufacturing demand. The I-4 corridor between Orlando and Lakeland, along with the Goldenrod Road and OBT/Orange Blossom Trail distribution nodes, continue to attract national third-party logistics tenants and last-mile operators seeking proximity to the metro's 3 million-plus consumer base. Amazon, Chewy, and a growing roster of aerospace and defense suppliers have expanded their footprints in the market, and speculative development is being absorbed quickly, with new Class A product in the South Orlando and East Orlando submarkets leasing up prior to shell completion in several cases. Net asking rents for Class A bulk distribution space have pushed past $11.00 per square foot NNN, and cap rates for core product are compressing toward the low 5% range as investor demand outpaces supply.

Office & Retail Dynamics

Orlando's office market remains bifurcated, with well-located Class A assets in Lake Mary, Maitland Center, and the Downtown Creative Village corridor posting steady leasing activity while older suburban Class B and C product continues to face meaningful vacancy pressure in the 17%-22% range. The Lake Nona Medical City and UCF Research Park submarkets are notable outperformers, attracting healthcare, biotech, and government defense tenants that have largely insulated those nodes from broader office weakness. On the retail side, Orlando is one of the strongest performing markets in the country, with vacancy near 4.9% and significant consumer spending power generated by 75 million annual tourists supplementing a local population base of 3.3 million. Grocery-anchored centers along major corridors including Alafaya Trail, Lee Road, and South John Young Parkway are trading at premium cap rates, and experiential retail and restaurant concepts are driving strong net absorption in tourist-adjacent corridors like I-Drive and Sand Lake Road.

Financing Landscape in Orlando

Orlando benefits from a highly competitive lending environment with active participation from regional banks including Seacoast Bank and Truist, national debt funds, life insurance companies, CMBS conduits, and agency lenders across all major product types. Lenders have shown particular appetite for industrial, grocery-anchored retail, and stabilized multifamily, with life companies aggressively quoting 10-year fixed rate executions on core product in the Lake Nona, Lake Mary, and Maitland submarkets. Bridge lenders remain active in the value-add multifamily and light industrial conversion space, with loan sizes typically ranging from $5 million to $50 million and exit strategies supported by robust refinance or disposition markets.

For borrowers in the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford area, current commercial mortgage rates range from 5.00% for agency multifamily to higher rates for transitional and value-add projects. Key factors that influence your rate include property type, leverage, sponsor experience, and asset location within the metro.

Top Submarkets to Watch

The Orlando metro features several distinct submarkets that present unique investment opportunities:

  • Downtown Orlando
  • Lake Nona
  • Winter Park
  • Kissimmee
  • Dr. Phillips
  • Altamonte Springs

Each of these submarkets has distinct characteristics in terms of tenant demand, development activity, and pricing. The top investment corridors in Orlando include Lake Nona, Lake Mary/Heathrow, Downtown Orlando/Creative Village, International Drive.

Investment Outlook: Orlando 2026

The 2026 outlook for Orlando commercial real estate is constructive across most asset classes, with industrial and multifamily expected to continue leading on fundamentals and hospitality poised for renewed investor attention as the Walt Disney World 100th anniversary build-up approaches and international travel rebounds further. Cap rate stabilization and improving debt market liquidity are expected to drive a meaningful uptick in transaction volume, particularly for value-add multifamily and net lease retail where bid-ask spreads have narrowed considerably since mid-2024. Investors and lenders with local market expertise and the ability to move quickly on off-market deal flow will be best positioned to capture the opportunities this market presents.

CLS CRE in Orlando

CLS CRE provides commercial mortgage brokerage services throughout the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metropolitan area, with access to 1,000+ lenders including banks, life insurance companies, CMBS conduits, agency lenders, debt funds, and credit unions. Whether you're acquiring, refinancing, or developing commercial property in Orlando, our market expertise and lender relationships help you secure the most competitive terms available.

Explore our financing programs for Orlando: