Best Neighborhoods to Buy a Home in Orlando

Top of the market: Baldwin Park, Lake Nona and College Park

The highest typical values in the city belong to a few well-known areas:

• Baldwin Park: about $769,645, up 0.8% over the year and 30.4% over five years. It was built on the former Naval Training Center site and is laid out as a walkable planned neighborhood around a lake.
• Lake Nona South: about $719,244, flat for the year and up 25.0% over five years. Northlake Park at Lake Nona sits lower at about $519,458, up 29.3%. Lake Nona is a large master-planned area in southeast Orlando built around a medical and research campus.
• College Park: about $543,829, up 1.9% over the year, one of the few gains in the city. It is an older neighborhood northwest of downtown with brick streets, lakes and a lot of pre-war and mid-century homes.

Wedgefield ($525,456) and Randal Park ($522,356) round out this group. Randal Park is down 4.3% over the past year, more than most areas at this price.

What these areas share is limited supply. Baldwin Park and College Park are built out, so new listings come only from existing owners. Lake Nona is still growing, which is one reason its newer sections trade at a wide range of prices. At this level, lot size, lake frontage and the age of the house move the price more than the neighborhood name does.

$350,000 to $500,000: the family-suburb middle

This band covers most of the single-family neighborhoods a typical buyer looks at:

• Union Park ($354,232), Williamsburg ($369,175) and Bryn Mawr ($372,510)
• Meadow Woods ($397,367) and Southchase ($415,302) in south Orlando
• Vista East ($426,508) and Alafaya ($451,027) on the east side toward the university
• Lake Como ($453,985) and Colonialtown North ($467,853) closer to downtown
• Hunters Creek ($467,247), a large master-planned community in the south
• Florida Center ($468,425) and Crescent Park ($497,984)

Almost every neighborhood here is down between 0% and 2% for the year, and up between 18% and 27% over five years. Prices have flattened without falling hard. The differences between them come down to house age, HOA or no HOA, and commute direction more than price trend.

Some of these names, such as Hunters Creek and Meadow Woods, carry an Orlando address while sitting partly or fully in unincorporated Orange County. That changes the tax rate and the services you get. Check the jurisdiction for each house you consider, because the same price can come with a different tax bill a mile apart.

$250,000 to $330,000: the best value-to-trend ratio

If you want a house under the city's typical value, this band deserves the closest look. Several neighborhoods here combine moderate prices with strong five-year gains:

• Timberleaf: about $278,507, up 31.2% over five years
• Azalea Park: about $323,808, up 26.3%, nearly flat for the year at -0.2%
• Monterey: about $304,431, up 2.1% for the year, the largest one-year gain on the list
• Engelwood Park: about $260,835, up 24.0%
• Lockhart ($299,876), Fairview Shores ($328,526) and Orlovista ($254,344), each up 22% to 24%

Expect older houses in most of these areas, often concrete block from the 1950s through the 1980s. Concrete block holds up well in wind, but plan for the usual items on older homes: roof age, electrical panels, original plumbing and the 4-point inspection your insurer will ask for.

Under $250,000: condo-heavy areas with falling values

The lowest values in the data come from neighborhoods where condos and townhomes make up much of the stock. They are also where prices dropped most:

• Conway: about $141,962, down 11.7% for the year and 9.7% over five years
• Kirkman North: about $144,389, down 10.9%
• Lake Frendrica: about $128,890, down 9.2%
• Ventura: about $188,190, down 8.3%
• South Semoran ($142,498), Florida Center North ($164,532) and Kirkman South ($163,902), each down about 7%
• Metro West ($220,255), down 5.9%, and the Central Business District ($263,435), down 6.0% and up only 1.9% over five years

The decline follows Florida's condo rule changes, which raised fees and triggered assessments in older complexes. There can be real bargains in this group, but only in buildings with funded reserves and clean inspection reports. Holden Heights ($214,443) is the exception here, down just 0.4% for the year.

How to pick between two neighborhoods at the same price

Two neighborhoods with the same Zillow value can cost very different amounts to own. Compare them on:

• HOA and CDD: Lake Nona, Hunters Creek and many newer suburbs carry HOA dues and often CDD assessments. Older areas often have neither.
• Insurance: house age, roof age and window protection drive the quote. Get one for the actual address.
• Flood: many Orlando neighborhoods are built around lakes. Check the FEMA zone and the lot's elevation.
• Commute and tolls: SR 408, SR 417 and SR 429 are toll roads, and daily tolls add up.

Census data shows Orlando's median age is 35.1, and the city's housing mix is about 31.6% single-family detached, so a lot of what you see in the city is apartments and condos. If you want a house, you will be choosing among a narrower set of neighborhoods than the city's size suggests.

Tell me your budget and what a normal weekday looks like for you, and I will turn this list into a short set of neighborhoods to tour.