Orlando vs San Antonio

**Price Trends & Affordability**

Orlando's median home price stands at $419,000 as of March 2026, down a modest 0.2% year-over-year after peaking near $444,500 in mid-2024. The 24-month series shows a clear downward drift from that peak through early 2026, with only a brief seasonal uptick in spring 2025 before resuming the slide. San Antonio sits at $323,950 — roughly $95,000 less than Orlando — and has experienced a steeper 3.3% year-over-year decline, pulling back from a mid-2024 peak near $349,000. Both markets are correcting from post-pandemic highs, but San Antonio's larger percentage decline reflects a more pronounced repricing. For a buyer stretching on a down payment, that $95,050 price gap translates to a meaningfully lower loan balance and monthly payment, though the comparison is complicated by Texas's significantly higher property tax burden of 2.1%–2.5% of assessed value versus Florida's roughly 1.02% effective rate — a difference that can easily run $3,000–$5,000 or more per year on a median-priced home.

**Inventory & Market Velocity**

Both markets have loosened substantially from the sub-2-month inventory levels seen in 2022–2023, but they're arriving at March 2026 from different trajectories. Orlando currently shows 3.0 months of supply with 13,222 active listings, after briefly touching 4.5 months in December 2025 before tightening back. Homes sit on the market an average of 67 days, which is notably slow by Sun Belt standards. San Antonio's inventory is currently at 2.7 months with 12,651 active listings, and days on market runs tighter at 61 days. Critically, San Antonio's supply spiked to 5.5 months as recently as December 2025 before pulling back sharply — suggesting either a seasonal pattern or a burst of buyer activity absorbing overhang. The lower days-on-market figure and tighter months-of-supply in San Antonio as of this snapshot indicate slightly faster-moving inventory, though both markets remain buyer-friendlier than they were two years ago.

**Buyer & Seller Dynamics**

Cash buyer participation differs meaningfully: Orlando registers 28% cash purchases versus 21% in San Antonio. Orlando's historically elevated cash share reflects investor activity tied to short-term rental demand — a tailwind that is now fading as Florida's insurance crisis escalates costs and municipalities tighten STR regulations. This pullback in investor demand is one reason supply has built and prices have softened. San Antonio's lower cash share suggests a market driven more by primary residence buyers, including military households at Joint Base San Antonio (80,000+ personnel) and spillover demand from Austin and Dallas buyers seeking relative affordability within the Texas Triangle. Both cities are no-income-tax states, but that advantage is partly offset in Texas by property taxes that can run more than double Florida's effective rate.

**Economic Fundamentals & Livability**

Orlando is growing faster in raw population terms — up 10.0% from 2019–2024 versus San Antonio's 8.0%, with Orlando clocking 2.7% growth in 2024 alone, the fastest among the 30 largest U.S. metros. Median household income is close: $81,044 in Orlando versus $78,112 in San Antonio, and both metros carry nearly identical cost-of-living indices (90.6 vs. 91.2 on a 100-point scale). Unemployment is effectively tied at 3.5% (Orlando) and 3.4% (San Antonio). Orlando's employment base is more tourism-concentrated, with Walt Disney World alone employing 80,000+, which introduces cyclical sensitivity; San Antonio's military anchor at JBSA provides unusual stability but limits wage ceiling potential. Both metros are car-dependent (Walk Scores of 46 and 44, respectively) with similar commutes of roughly 27–29 minutes. San Antonio summers run slightly hotter at a 95°F July average high versus Orlando's 92°F, though Orlando's humidity makes its heat index feel comparable. The core trade-off is this: Orlando offers faster population growth, a lower effective property tax rate, and a larger absolute price correction off a higher base; San Antonio offers a lower entry price point, faster-moving inventory, and an employment base less exposed to tourism cycles.