Orlando is the largest inland multifamily market in Florida, which makes its risk profile measurably different from Tampa, Jacksonville, or Miami. Hurricane exposure is real but typically wind-only, not storm surge. Insurance is meaningfully cheaper than coastal markets. The tourism economy concentrates demand in specific submarkets in ways that don't always show up in metro-level statistics.
If you're underwriting Orlando multifamily, three local considerations should drive the work.
The Orange County tax cycle (and the catch-up)
Orange County reassesses every year. The 10% non-homestead cap applies to investment property, but it protects the seller, not you. On a change of ownership the cap is stripped, and the Property Appraiser resets Just Value the following January 1 (F.S. 193.1554 for nine-or-fewer-unit buildings, 193.1555 for ten-plus units and commercial) toward net sale proceeds, roughly 85-90% of your price after the F.S. 193.011(8) cost-of-sale adjustment. The step-up lands in your first post-close assessment.
Combined millage varies by municipality. For 2025 the City of Orlando combined rate is approximately 19.1 mills ($19.10 per $1,000 of taxable value, or ~1.9% of taxable value). Unincorporated Orange County is around 16.1 mills (~1.6%). Other Orange municipalities (Winter Park, Winter Garden, Ocoee) fall in between. The blended effective rate DealBrief models for Orange is about 1.80%, but the same deal underwrites differently across county lines: Osceola (Kissimmee) runs closer to 1.95%, Seminole (Sanford) nearer 1.70%, and Lake (Clermont) about 1.75%.
Worked example: bought $1.8M, current assessed $1.0M, Orange effective rate about 1.80%.
- Broker-quoted (seller's capped assessed): $1.0M × 1.80% = $18,000
- Post-close Just Value roughly 0.90 × $1.8M = $1.62M
- Year-1 tax: $1.62M × 1.80% = about $29,200
Nearly a 62% jump in the first reassessment, not a gradual climb. Full tax modeling guide.
Budget the non-ad-valorem line the millage leaves out, too: Orlando's newer master-planned suburbs (Lake Nona, Horizon West, and much of the Kissimmee and Sanford growth corridors) sit inside Community Development Districts that add a separate CDD assessment to the tax bill, commonly $1,000-$3,000+ per year per home for bonds and maintenance. The effective rate above does not include it, so read the non-ad-valorem section of the actual bill.
Insurance: better than Tampa, still elevated
Orlando is inland enough that storm surge isn't a meaningful risk for most of the metro. Wind risk is real but less extreme than coastal markets. Insurance premiums for small multifamily run roughly $700-$1,500 per door per year, depending on roof age, building age, and submarket. Older masonry buildings without modern wind mitigation can run higher.
Two rules:
Get a real quote before bidding. The Florida market shift has hit Orlando too, even at lower magnitude than the coast. Premiums are 50-100% higher than 2020 levels for most policies.
Mind the difference between Orange and Seminole vs. Osceola. Osceola's southern reach approaches the Lake Wales Ridge and parts of the watershed that flood more easily. Pull the FEMA map for any property south of the airport.
Full guide to FEMA flood zone checks.
Tourism concentration in the I-Drive / Disney corridor
A large share of Orlando's job base is tourism, hospitality, and theme park employment. The submarkets where service-industry tenants are concentrated are heavily dependent on tourist volume:
- International Drive corridor: hotel-staff and theme-park worker housing.
- South of Sand Lake Road / east of I-Drive: similar exposure.
- Kissimmee / U.S. 192 corridor: heavily tourism-dependent.
- Pine Hills, Orange Blossom Trail submarkets: more diverse tenant base.
In 2020, when theme park operations paused, vacancy rose sharply in tourism-adjacent submarkets and barely moved in non-tourism areas. The same vulnerability exists in any future demand shock. This doesn't make tourism-adjacent properties bad investments; it makes them higher-beta. Underwrite the submarket specifically.
Permits through Orange County and City of Orlando
City of Orlando permits run through the City of Orlando portal. Orange County permits (for unincorporated parcels) run through Orange County's Permits & Licenses. Make sure you're searching the right one based on the parcel's jurisdiction.
Cross-reference broker renovation claims. Florida has been hardening permit enforcement post-Surfside, especially on structural and electrical work. See the full guide to checking permit history.
Demographic growth, but supply has kept pace
Orange County has been one of the fastest-growing US counties for two decades. Demand has been strong. But the supply side has responded: deliveries in 2022-2024 across the metro hit multi-decade highs, especially in the SoDo, Mills 50, Lake Nona, and downtown submarkets.
Practical implication: be careful with rent growth assumptions in submarkets where new construction has been heavy. Class B/C in established neighborhoods (Audubon Park, parts of College Park, parts of Conway) has less direct supply pressure than Class A near the lease-up zone.
The standard checklist still applies
The Orlando-specific items above sit on top of the general pre-offer due diligence checklist. Permit history, code violations, demographics trajectory, debt service stress test, FEMA flood zone all still matter.
Florida's non-homestead 10% cap and the post-sale tax catch-up are the dominant local tax considerations. Full tax modeling guide.
Or get the Orlando research done for you
DealBrief pulls Orange or Osceola County assessment, current combined millage, sale history, permit records, FEMA flood zone, demographic trajectory, and the full debt service scenario grid for any Orlando multifamily address. Your first report is free.