As we kick off 2026, the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford rental market is showing signs of cooling after several years of rapid growth. According to the latest Realtor.com® November 2025 Rental Report, Orlando’s median asking rent for 0–2 bedroom units fell 1.8% year-over-year in November[1]. This modest decline is welcome news for renters and a signal that the post-pandemic surge in rents is finally easing. However, affordability remains a major challenge, and landlords and property owners should pay close attention to these trends. In this post, we’ll break down Orlando’s latest rent figures, compare local trends to the national picture, discuss how rising wages in 2026 might help, and even look at how renting vs. buying in Orlando stacks up. Let’s dive into the numbers and what they mean for you as a Central Florida property owner.
Orlando Rental Market Cools as 2025 Ends
After years of climbing rents, Orlando rents are finally trending down. In November 2025, the median rent in the Orlando metro was $1,650, which is 1.8% lower than a year prior[1]. This puts Orlando firmly in “rents are going down” territory. For context, last year at the same time we were seeing double-digit annual rent increases; now the market is slowly rebalancing after the pandemic-era run-up in prices.
What’s behind this cooldown? A mix of factors likely contributed, from increased apartment construction in Central Florida to renters pushing back on unaffordable prices. The slight decline (-1.8% YoY) suggests softer demand or a bit more supply, rather than a dramatic crash. In practical terms, renters may find slightly more negotiating power – perhaps one month free on a new lease or more listings to choose from – but overall rents are still high by historical standards. Orlando’s median rent today is not far off from the national median of $1,693[2], showing that our metro remains a desirable (and relatively pricey) market.
Lower rents are helping at the margins, particularly for lower-wage households. But the relief is small so far – which brings us to the next point: affordability.
Affordability Remains a Challenge for Orlando Renters
Despite the recent rent cooldown, housing affordability in Orlando is still a serious concern. Rents may be dipping, but they’re still elevated compared to a few years ago. Nationwide data show median rents are 17.2% higher than in November 2019 (pre-pandemic)[2], and Orlando fits that pattern. In other words, the current “cheaper” rents are only cheap relative to last year’s peak; they’re still much pricier than a few years back, while incomes haven’t risen nearly as fast.
For Orlando’s lower-wage renters, the numbers are daunting. Housing experts typically define “affordable” rent as no more than 30% of income. By that measure, even with a 1.8% rent dip, many Orlando households are stretched. Consider this example from the Realtor.com® report: two minimum-wage earners in Orlando would each need to work about 51 hours per week to afford the median 0–2 bedroom rental (assuming they devote 30% of income to rent)[1]. That’s 11 hours of overtime per person every week, just to cover a typical apartment. While Orlando’s situation isn’t unique, it underscores how renters at the lower end of the pay scale are still struggling despite a cooler market.
Why is it so tough? One issue is that rent growth outpaced wage growth in recent years. Even though Orlando’s rents are down slightly year-over-year, they’re still far above what they were a few years ago, whereas many workers’ paychecks haven’t kept up. It’s telling that only 5 of the 50 largest U.S. metros currently have median rents low enough to be affordable for two people working full-time at their local minimum wage[3]. Orlando is not yet in that affordable club – and that’s with two incomes in the household. Single renters or single-income families have it even harder.
For landlords, this affordability squeeze means renters are price-sensitive. Many tenants will be at (or beyond) their budget limits, so even a small rent increase could prompt them to seek cheaper options. In this environment, setting the right rental price is crucial – high enough to meet your income goals, but not so high that you drive away good tenants. (Need help finding that sweet spot? More on that in our conclusion!)
Orlando vs. National Rent Trends
It’s helpful to see Orlando’s trends in context of the national rental market. The November 2025 Rental Report shows a clear theme: rents are cooling off across the country. In fact, November marked the 28th consecutive month of year-over-year rent declines nationally for 0–2 bedroom properties[2]. The U.S. median rent in the largest metros is now $1,693, about 1.0% lower than a year ago[2]. Orlando’s 1.8% decline is a bit steeper than the national average decline, indicating our area is experiencing the cooldown slightly more intensely (perhaps a needed correction after particularly sharp increases in prior years).
All unit sizes are feeling the chill. Studios, one-bedrooms, and two-bedrooms all saw roughly 0% to 1% rent drops year-over-year nationwide[4]. In Orlando, where the data combines 0–2 bedroom units, we’re seeing that small overall dip that aligns with this trend. Economists note that studios often react fastest to market shifts (since those renters can be more flexible), and indeed studio rents are almost flat nationally (down just 0.4% YoY)[4]. The takeaway: the rent slowdown isn’t limited to one apartment type – it’s broad-based.
However, “cooling” doesn’t mean “cheap.” Rents are still historically high. Nationally, as mentioned, rents are 17% above late-2019 levels[5], and Florida’s markets are no exception. Orlando and other Sun Belt metros saw some of the biggest pandemic-era rent surges, so even after recent declines, renting costs remain elevated. This is why affordability is the defining theme of the housing market in 2025 and heading into 2026[6].
Let’s briefly compare Orlando to other Florida metros at the end of 2025, according to the data:
Orlando: Median $1,650 rent, -1.8% YoY[1] (cooling after previous run-ups).
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale: Median $2,287, -2.7% YoY (notably higher rents, and a bigger drop)[7].
Tampa Bay: Median $1,672, -2.5% YoY (similar price tier to Orlando, with a larger decline)[8].
Jacksonville: Median $1,457, -4.2% YoY (more affordable market, and seeing one of the biggest drops)[9].
As you can see, the rent decline is a statewide trend in Florida. Orlando’s decline is moderate compared to some of its neighbors – not as large as Jacksonville’s drop, but still a noticeable shift from the days of 10%+ annual rent hikes. For property owners, this means the era of endlessly surging rents has paused (at least for now). Pricing strategies that worked in 2021 or 2022 (when you could name your price and still find tenants) may need adjustment in 2026’s cooler market. Staying informed on both local and national trends can help you make savvy decisions about rent adjustments and marketing your rental property.
Florida’s Rising Minimum Wage Offers Some Relief in 2026
One positive development on the horizon: Florida’s minimum wage is set to increase in 2026, which should help some renters better afford housing. Florida has been gradually raising its minimum wage toward $15/hour, and in 2026 it reaches that milestone. In 2025, the state minimum wage was $13; by late 2026 it will be $15. This 15% pay bump for the lowest earners could make a real difference in housing affordability for those households.
The Realtor.com® report specifically highlights Florida as a place where wage hikes will improve rental affordability[10]. For example, in Orlando the jump to $15/hour is projected to cut the required work hours for a two-minimum-wage household from about 51 hours per week each down to 44 hours per week each to afford the median rent[1][11]. In other words, a full-time minimum-wage couple in Orlando still wouldn’t quite hit the affordability target at 40 hours each, but they’ll be much closer – needing just a few extra hours instead of nearly a day and a half of overtime collectively. That’s a meaningful improvement for those workers, potentially freeing up income for other necessities.
Florida isn’t alone in this trend. Many states and cities are raising minimum wages in 2026, and it’s expected to expand the number of metros where low-wage earners can afford rent. As Realtor.com’s chief economist Danielle Hale notes, “the number of metros where two minimum wage earners can afford a typical rental without working overtime will grow in 2026”, and even in high-cost areas with scheduled wage hikes, “the amount of overtime hours needed to afford a rental will decline”[12]. In fact, two markets are on track to newly become affordable for minimum-wage renters in 2026: Detroit, MI and Jacksonville, FL, thanks to their coming wage increases[10] (Detroit’s minimum wage is jumping to $13.73, and Florida’s to $15).
For Orlando property owners, these wage developments have a couple of implications. First, a bit more income for renters can translate to better ability to pay rent on time and in full – good news for landlords. It might also expand the tenant pool slightly, as folks who were priced out might now manage to rent their own place. However, even at $15/hour, many renters will still struggle (remember, 44 hours per week each just to afford the median rent isn’t exactly comfortable). So while the minimum wage hike is a step in the right direction for affordability, it won’t overnight solve the rent burden issue. Landlords should stay attuned to tenants’ financial stress and perhaps be open to creative solutions (like flexible payment schedules or modest rent discounts for longer leases) to keep good tenants in place.
Renting vs. Buying in Orlando (Early 2026)
With home prices and mortgage rates where they are, a common question is: “Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Orlando right now?” As property managers, we often hear this from both renters and investors. As of early 2026, renting remains generally cheaper than buying on a monthly cost basis in most places – and that includes Orlando. Nationally, the median rent ($1,693) is well below the typical monthly mortgage payment (around $2,040) for a median-priced home[13]. That gap of several hundred dollars per month means that, for many households focused on near-term affordability, renting is the more budget-friendly choice[14].
In Orlando, we see a similar pattern. Home prices in our metro rose significantly in recent years, and mortgage rates, though off their peak, are still high (~6-7% for a 30-year loan). The result is that the monthly mortgage payment on a median Orlando home (factoring in principal, interest, taxes, insurance) often comes out higher than the median rent. For example, a roughly $330,000 median home price with 20% down at current rates could easily lead to ~$2,000 or more in monthly mortgage costs – in the same ballpark as that national figure. Meanwhile, the median rent for an apartment is around $1,650 – saving a renter a few hundred dollars each month in cash flow.
However, it’s important to note that the rent vs. buy calculus is always evolving. The gap between renting and owning “is narrowing” as of late 2025[14]. Why? A couple of reasons:
- Mortgage rates have come down a bit from their 2024 highs, slightly improving purchasing power for buyers. (For instance, 30-year fixed rates have dipped into the mid-6% range[15] after topping 7% earlier, reducing monthly payments somewhat.)
- Rents are cooling or even dropping, which means renting isn’t consuming quite as much of a paycheck as it was a year ago, while home prices in Orlando have leveled off or risen more slowly.
If interest rates continue to ease in 2026, buying could become more affordable and chip away at the renting cost advantage. And of course, buying a home has long-term financial benefits (building equity, locking in a fixed payment) that rent doesn’t offer. The decision often comes down to an individual’s financial readiness and plans to stay put. For now, though, Orlando renters have the short-term cost edge – and many are taking advantage of that by remaining renters a bit longer.
For landlords and investors, this trend has a silver lining: strong rental demand. If renting is cheaper than owning, a lot of would-be first-time homebuyers will likely keep renting, ensuring a healthy tenant pool. The key is to make sure your rental property is competitively priced and well-maintained, because these savvy renters will compare options. If you’re considering selling your property vs. renting it out, it’s worth crunching the numbers – in many cases, holding onto the property as a rental could yield positive cash flow given high rents (even if they’ve cooled slightly) and the fact that renting remains an attractive option for many locals in 2026.
Conclusion: Navigating 2026 with Ackley’s Expertise (Call to Action)
Orlando’s 2026 rental landscape offers both opportunities and challenges. Rents are finally stabilizing, which can help with tenant retention, but affordability pressures mean landlords must be thoughtful about pricing and compliant with any new regulations. Keeping up with market trends, setting the right rent, and managing tenant expectations will be key to your success as a property owner this year.
That’s where we come in. Ackley Florida Property Management is here to help Central Florida landlords navigate these shifting tides. With decades of local experience, we assist property owners in pricing rentals competitively (using real-time market data), marketing and leasing units quickly to reduce vacancy, and staying compliant with Florida’s laws and ordinances – from lease agreements that respect the latest statutes to understanding new rules (like 2026’s wage changes or any local housing regulations).
Don’t go it alone in a changing market. Let our team at Ackley Florida Property Management guide you in maximizing your rental investment while keeping your tenants happy. Contact us today to discuss your property and goals – we’ll provide a personalized strategy for pricing, leasing, and managing your rental in 2026’s market. With the right partner, you can turn these Orlando rent trends to your advantage. Get in touch now and let’s make this year your most successful one yet in Central Florida’s rental market!
Sources:
Realtor.com® Economic Research – November 2025 Rental Report[2][1][10]
Realtor.com® November 2025 Rental Report (Affordability data and metro comparisons)[9][8]
Realtor.com® Team – Minneapolis Rents Are Going Down (Reprinted analysis of national vs. local trends)[4][14]
[1] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] November 2025 Rental Report: Affordability Improves for Minimum-Wage Earners - Realtor.com Economic Research
https://www.realtor.com/research/november-2025-rent/
[2] [3] [5] [12] Rental Market Softens, But Affordability Concerns Linger – NMP
https://nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news/rental-market-softens-affordability-concerns-linger
[4] [6] [13] [14] [15] Minneapolis Rents Are Going Down
https://roundtablerealty.com/blog/Minneapolis-Rents-Are-Going-Down
