Yet there is little else in the Orlando apartment market to discourage investors who are seeking properties, in particular those that are in distress or under bank ownership. Diminished cash flows are forcing some owners to surrender assets, says Richard Matricaria, Orlando regional manager with Marcus & Millichap.

"The appearance of these properties on the market will provide an opportunity for investors with equity in stabilized assets to redeploy capital into deeply discounted properties, some of which have never been marketed," Matricaria says. "Owners who need to sell, meanwhile, will weigh the risk of chasing down the market further if a sell decision is made."

Granade, whose CBRE Central Florida Multi-Housing Group claims at least half of the $219 million in local apartment sales last year, says the Orlando market is well on its way to topping that figure this year with $60 million in January. However, it will take a while longer to reach past sales marks of $647 million in 2008 or just over $1 billion in 2007, he says. The market peaked at $3.5 billion in 2005.

"There is a lot of capital waiting to get back in," Granade says, noting that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae financing is available for potential deals. Current properties going up for sale are attracting between 25 and 30 offers each, twice as many as in recent years, he says.