Expert: Orlando Housing Market Looks Solid

Housing starts are plummeting. Inventory has risen dramatically. Florida mortgage rates are low, but not enough to spur sales when prices have gone through the roof for five years running.

So the Central Florida real estate market is in turmoil, right? Not necessarily.

Bill Moss, senior managing director at CB Richard Ellis in Orlando, has seen a lot of markets in more than two decades in the marketplace.

His take on metro Orlando today?

Pretty solid.

In fact, the Orlando housing market has been tepid, but not too hot or cold. The area also leads the state among major metro areas in terms of commercial real estate demand. Greater Orlando boasts the lowest vacancy level, at just 7.6 percent. That’s encouraging to developers.

The market also leads the state with the most new construction under way.

In second place is Palm Beach County, with a bit more than 1 million square feet. Investor interest in commercial real estate buildings is strong, with buyers particularly noting strong rental demand. The biggest space demand is coming from the tourist, financial services, along with the computer and software sectors.

The housing market may be cooling off somewhat, but only in certain areas, making the area is a completely different ball game from one developer to the next. And when it comes to the area’s commercial real estate, there’s been no noticeable decline.

Case in point: the Central Florida division of Avatar Properties, which has enjoyed a strong first nine months of this year, posting 692 new-home sales for $247 million. The division is developing in Solivita, Bellalago, the Isles of Bellalago and Poinciana.

The latter, a staggering 47,000-acre community in Osceola and Polk County, has been the second-best-selling master-planned community in the entire United States over the past two years, trailing only The Villages, which comprises portions of Lake, Sumter and Marion County.