Rule of Thumb
A general rule that many have used for decades when it comes to buying a house is the 3x rule, which means your mortgage should be no more than three times your annual salary.
Although housing costs are high in Orlando, Rose Kemp, President of the Orlando Realtors Association, said that rule still holds true in 2024.
“You still have to qualify,” she said. “So the rule holds true when it comes to the requirements and the qualifications of the lending program that you are applying for.”
Kemp said the home buying process is unique to each individual, but the most important part for everyone is preparation.
“So many buyers, I find, will get information from their neighbors or read information on their own, and they assume what they can purchase or not purchase,” she said. “They assume if they can qualify or not qualify.”
Kemp said it is best to shop around for a lender and realtor that fits you, and use that team of professionals to help guide you through the market as it can shift quickly.
“Even if it takes you a year, it's better than sitting on the sidelines and not knowing that maybe you can't have two car payments, or maybe you have a bill out there looming that you didn't even know,” she said. “There's just so many factors that impact what you can and cannot afford. And those are the kinds of questions that you review with your professionals.”
Challenges & Successes
As Central Florida continues to see ongoing population growth, Kemp said one of the biggest challenges facing potential buyers is low inventory.
Orlando’s housing market continues to stay competitive as inventory remains below a 6 month supply -- which is the threshold considered for a balanced market.
The Orlando region has around a 4 month supply as of May. That’s up from a 2 month supply last year, according to the latest monthly State of the Market Report from the Orlando Regional Association.

However, Kemp said the added inventory is helping the housing market stabilize.
“But with all of the relocations we have, we still need more inventory. So we're stabilizing. It's great not to see the values continue to climb because that's not sustainable. But at the end of the day, we also don't foresee values declining, because we uniquely here in Central Florida, have a market that's high in demand.”
As of May 2024, the median home price is $385,000 in the Orlando area, down from $388,500 the month prior.
Another challenge facing potential buyers are interest rates, said Kemp.
After dropping to a historic low of under 3% in 2021, according to analysis by Freddie Mac, mortgage rates now average between 6% and 7%.
Kemp said that low rate of 3% was due to the COVID lockdown.
“A lot of our buyers right now look at those interest rates of 6.6% and they want to sit on the sidelines because they're hoping that the interest rates are gonna drop to that (3%). But that was actually a very unique historical situation,” she said.
In order to be successful, some families are stepping in and helping younger people purchase their first homes.
“We're seeing a lot of parents and immediate family members, assisting the younger people in their families to purchase because the rent factors are high,” she said. “We're definitely also seeing young adults that maybe have been in their profession just a couple of years under 30 jumping into the market for the very same reason.”
Although Kemp said inventory remains an issue for those younger buyers as well.

Finding Assistance
Various programs throughout Florida offer potential buyers assistance in attaining their first home, like the Hometown Heroes Housing Program which offers up to 5% on the first mortgage loan amount in down payment and closing cost assistance.
“Hometown for Heroes is a state program that got funded for the third time recently,” said Kemp. “But your lenders are also going to have programs. And then you also have city and county programs that may or may not be available because sometimes they don't have funds. A lot of times when the funds hit, you have to be ready to go.”
There are also programs at the county level, like the Down Payment Assistance Program in Orange County.