Orlando property market cools off

After recording the biggest year-over-year change of any of the top 40 U.S. markets in 2013 — a 106.0 percent increase over 2012, according to data from Real Capital Analytics — it seems that the property market in Orlando may be coming back to earth.

The metropolitan area climbed nine spots in RCA’s rankings to end 2013 as the 20th biggest market in the United States in total property sales volume at $4.97 billion (its highest position since 2007). The climb was driven by big years for Orlando’s apartment and hotel sectors, which saw $2.1 billion and $1.9 billion in transactions, respectively.

While the multifamily sector did very well, posting a year-over-year increase of 135 percent with each quarter in 2013 topping 2012’s one-quarter high of $352 million, it was Orlando’s hotel sector that experienced the biggest surge. The sector saw a year-over-year