If there is one thing I have learned over the past year, it’s that retail buyers have not left Orlando. They have become more selective, and that selectivity is exposing the real issue in the market: there are not enough high-quality retail properties available for sale in the trade areas investors want most.
Inventory remains near all-time lows throughout Central Florida, especially in established trade areas with strong demographics, excellent visibility and limited opportunities for new development. As a result, buyer demand continues to outpace the number of available opportunities.
Orlando remains one of the strongest retail markets in the country, supported by healthy consumer spending, positive net absorption and a limited construction pipeline that continues to give investors confidence.
For owners, this creates an important window. Properties with strong locations, durable tenancy and a clear growth story are standing out because buyers have fewer comparable alternatives to pursue. In this market, quality does not just protect value; it creates competition.
One of the biggest changes I have noticed over the past few years is how buyers evaluate opportunities.
A few years ago, investors moved much faster. Today, they spend more time underwriting acquisitions, reviewing lease structures and understanding the long-term story behind each property. That does not mean demand has disappeared. Buyers have become more deliberate because quality opportunities are harder to find.
What consistently separates one property from another is the quality of the underlying real estate. Location, visibility, traffic counts, surrounding demographics and future growth have become some of the biggest drivers of value. Buyers want to understand where a property will be five or 10 years from now, not just where it is today. Strong real estate gives investors flexibility, regardless of how the tenant mix evolves over time.
We are already seeing this throughout Central Florida. Universal Epic Universe has added momentum along the International Drive corridor, while Tavistock Development’s Lake Nona West, the continued expansion of Horizon West and Hamlin, and projects such as NeoCity are attracting retailers, employers and residents to some of the region’s fastest-growing areas. These developments are expanding the population and employment base that supports long-term retail demand.
According to Marcus & Millichap Research Services, vacancies in Orlando’s Tourist Corridor fell below 3 percent in June, supported by leisure and hospitality hiring and tourism activity following Epic Universe at Universal Orlando Resort opening last year.
Buyers have also become more specialized.
Some investors are focused on stabilized shopping centers with long-term leases and predictable cash flow. Others intentionally seek vacancy, below-market rents or upcoming lease rollover because they see an opportunity to create value over time. Neither approach is better than the other. The key is understanding which buyer is the right fit for each property.
Recent transactions across Central Florida reinforce this trend. Florida Center in Orlando sold for approximately $5.6 million; Longwood Shoppes traded for nearly $2.9 million; and a trophy retail center across from Daytona International Speedway sold for approximately $14.9 million. While each property attracted a different buyer profile, they all shared the same characteristics: strong locations, excellent visibility, solid demographics and limited competing inventory.
Population and employment growth continue to drive retail investment across Central Florida. Orlando added 19,000 jobs during the first five months of 2026, led by gains in leisure, hospitality, professional and business services.
Buyers are paying close attention to household income, traffic counts, residential growth and surrounding development before making acquisition decisions. Markets such as Lake Nona, Winter Garden, Horizon West, Clermont, Minneola and St. Cloud continue attracting investor interest because they are supported by long-term population growth and expanding consumer demand, not short-term trends.
The makeup of the buyer pool has also evolved. Private investors, family offices, 1031 exchange buyers, regional owner-operators and institutional investors all remain active in the market. Some are focused on preserving capital through stabilized assets, while others are looking to create value through leasing, redevelopment or repositioning.
On the sell side, many long-term owners are taking advantage of strong pricing, while others are repositioning their portfolios or recycling capital into larger opportunities.
Looking ahead, I expect investors to remain selective but active. Orlando is forecast to add 940,000 square feet of retail space in 2026, yet that represents only a 0.7 percent inventory increase and remains below the metro’s trailing 10-year annual average. Investors may be taking longer to make decisions than they did a few years ago, but there is still a tremendous amount of capital looking for well-located retail opportunities.
Retail has always been a location business, and today’s market has only reinforced that truth. Orlando’s strongest retail assets continue to benefit from population growth, limited new supply and durable consumer demand. As buyers become more disciplined, quality real estate in the right trade areas will continue to command attention, create liquidity and define the market’s next cycle.
— By Tarek Chbeir, Managing Director, Marcus & Millichap. This article was originally published in the August 2026 issue of Southeast Real Estate Business.