Houston vs Orlando

**Home-Price Appreciation:** Houston and Orlando have taken sharply divergent paths in 2026. Houston's FHFA House Price Index rose +3.4% year-over-year and +0.8% quarter-over-quarter as of Q2 2026, signaling steady, broad-based appreciation. Orlando, by contrast, posted only +0.8% year-over-year and actually slipped -0.5% quarter-over-quarter as of Q2 2026 — meaning prices edged down from Q1 to Q2. Looking at the longer arc, both metros saw explosive gains through 2021–2022, but Orlando's index ran further and faster during the pandemic surge; the subsequent cooling has been more pronounced there as inventory rebuilt and investor-driven demand pulled back. For buyers, Houston offers a lower median home value ($327,400 per ACS 2024) versus Orlando's $409,400 (ACS 2024), and Houston's appreciation momentum is currently stronger on a trailing-year basis.

**Construction and Labor Markets:** Houston remains one of the most prolific homebuilding metros in the country. In July 2026, Houston issued 5,773 permits (Census BPS), flat year-over-year — a high level of supply that keeps a ceiling on price gains but also ensures relatively strong inventory for buyers. Orlando issued 2,008 permits in July 2026 (Census BPS), down 3.6% from a year earlier, reflecting a meaningful slowdown in new construction. On the labor side, both metros saw unemployment rise over the past year, though Houston's increase is more notable: Houston's unemployment rate was 5.1% in July 2026 (not seasonally adjusted, BLS LAUS), up from 4.8% in July 2025. Orlando came in at 4.7% in July 2026, up from 4.1% in July 2025 — a larger percentage-point jump (0.6 pp vs. 0.3 pp for Houston) but from a lower base. Houston's economy is diversified across energy, the Texas Medical Center, aerospace, and port logistics, while Orlando leans heavily on tourism, hospitality, and a growing healthcare and defense-simulation cluster anchored by UCF, AdventHealth, and L3Harris.

**Rental Costs and Cost of Living:** Renters face a meaningful gap between the two markets. HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom unit is $1,573/month in Houston versus $1,972/month in Orlando — a $399/month difference that matters both for renters choosing between markets and for investors evaluating yield potential relative to purchase price. On overall cost of living, the two metros are close: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024) put Houston at 98.6 (slightly below the U.S. average of 100) and Orlando at 101.4, a gap of under 3%. Median household incomes are nearly identical — $81,417 in Houston versus $81,044 in Orlando (Census ACS 2024) — so the modestly higher Orlando price level represents a small but real purchasing-power headwind.

**Taxes and Trade-offs:** Neither Texas nor Florida levies a state income tax on wages, so that dimension is a wash. Property taxes are where the markets diverge significantly. Houston carries a 1.45% effective rate (ACS 2024, homestead exemptions reflected) versus Orlando's 0.74% effective rate (ACS 2024, homestead exemptions reflected) — a 0.71 percentage-point difference that translates to roughly $2,840 more per year on a $400,000 home. This is a structural cost that Houston buyers must weigh against the metro's lower purchase prices, lower rents, and stronger near-term appreciation. Orlando buyers pay less in annual property taxes and currently face softer price growth, but they contend with Florida's ongoing homeowners-insurance cost pressures, a higher median home value, and a labor market that has softened faster on a relative basis. Population growth favors Houston slightly — +1.63% year-over-year (2025 Census estimate) versus +1.29% for Orlando — reinforcing Houston's demand-side fundamentals despite its larger supply pipeline.