Lake Alfred, FL Market Update: What the Data Says for Buyers, Sellers and Investors
List prices down 4.9% in 33850, 99 days on market and commercial at $227 per square foot across ZIP code 33850. Every number from the Linton Global Market Map, as of September 2026.
Photo: Mackay Estate, Lake Alfred by AHeneen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped).
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Michael R. Linton, Florida Broker #BK703722, advises investors, owners, tenants and banks on commercial property, small multifamily, land and distressed assets in Lake Alfred and across Polk County through Linton Global Solutions.
Lake Alfred is a softening market right now, and the numbers say pricing matters more than timing. Look at it ZIP code by ZIP code, not as one city average.
The Bottom Line on Lake Alfred
Lake Alfred is a small city in central Polk County on US 17-92, between Winter Haven and Haines City and a short drive from I-4. It is home to the University of Florida’s Citrus Research and Education Center, reflecting a long citrus history, and its lakes and older neighborhoods are now drawing new residential growth from the I-4 corridor.
Lake Alfred is a softening housing market, and its commercial property trades at a premium to the rest of Polk County, with almost no distress.
- Homes: median list prices of $344,995, down 4.9% in 33850 from a year ago; Polk County is down 3.2%.
- Supply: 104 active listings in 33850 (up 22.4%); 99 days on market.
- Commercial: median $227 per square foot, versus $166 countywide.
- Distress: no commercial distress transfers or bank-held parcels on the 2026 tax roll.
Where Lake Alfred Is
This report covers one ZIP code: 33850, Lake Alfred, including downtown, the US 17-92 corridor, the citrus research center and the lakes and neighborhoods around the city.
Housing Market
| Realtor.com, September 2026 | 33850 | Polk County |
|---|---|---|
| Median list price | $344,995 | $329,000 |
| vs. a year ago | -4.9% | -3.2% |
| Active listings | 104 | 4,801 |
| Active vs. a year ago | +22.4% | +0.7% |
| Median days on market | 99 | 80 |
| Listings with a price cut | 22.1% | 23.4% |
| Home values, 5 years (FHFA) | +66.5% | — |
The highest-priced ZIP code is 33850 at $344,995. Homes are taking longer to sell than the county average. The FHFA House Price Index shows five-year gains of 66.5%; the run-up is behind us, and today is about pricing to the market.
Who Is Buying: Mortgage Data
| HMDA 2025 home purchases | 33850 | Polk County |
|---|---|---|
| Home-purchase loans | 279 | 13,749 |
| Median purchase price | $335,000 | $315,000 |
| Median buyer income | $99,000 | $91,000 |
| FHA / VA / USDA loans | 53.7% | 52.8% |
| Investor purchases | 5.5% | 10.7% |
Investors took the largest share of purchase loans in 33850 (5.5%). Source: the CFPB's HMDA data browser.
Rents
HUD's FY2027 Small Area Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom is $1,350. The strongest renter base is in 33850, where 27% of households rent. Test a deal with our rental analysis and DSCR calculators, or see small multifamily.
Commercial Real Estate
| 2026 tax roll | 33850 | Polk County |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial & industrial parcels | 168 | 16,053 |
| Building area (million SF) | 0.83 | 168.21 |
| Median year built | 1963 | 1982 |
| Arm’s-length sales | 20 | 622 |
| Median sale $/SF | $227 | $166 |
| Distress transfers / bank-held parcels | 0 / 0 | 48 / 20 |
Lake Alfred commercial property is small retail and service along US 17-92, older downtown buildings, and light industrial and agricultural space. Its spot between Winter Haven, Haines City and I-4 keeps demand steady, and corridor property trades above many of the smaller Polk towns.
Lake Alfred has about 0.8 million square feet of commercial buildings and recorded 20 arm's-length sales at a median $227 per square foot, above the county's $166. There were no distress transfers or bank-held parcels on the roll.
Lake Alfred sits between Winter Haven, Haines City and I-4, and that location is the asset. Small commercial buildings on US 17-92 hold value better than their size suggests; price them against the corridor, not the town.
Jobs, Permits and the County Economy
| Polk County | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 790,694 |
| Median household income | $65,978 |
| Unemployment rate (BLS) | 5.6% |
| Private jobs (BLS QCEW) | 264,981 · +1.7% |
| Average annual pay | $57,763 |
| Housing permits, year to date | 4,828 · -21.2% |
Polk County jobs were up 1.7% over the latest year per the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, with unemployment at 5.6%. Housing permits are down 21.2% this year per the Census Building Permits Survey. 33850 grew 17.2% in population over the Census survey period, the 50th-highest of the ZIP codes in our reports.
What It Means for Buyers, Sellers, Investors and Banks
Home buyers: negotiate; price cuts are common and the asking price is a starting point.
Sellers: price to recent sales in your ZIP code, not to last year's peak.
Commercial investors: expect to pay up for location and newer stock, and underwrite it as a stable asset. Trading in? See 1031 exchanges.
Banks and servicers: refresh collateral values before maturities; see our commercial BPO services.
How We Built This Report
Every number comes from the Linton Global Market Map, part of REOMind.ai from Linton Global Technologies, which joins listing, Census, HUD, HMDA, tax roll, BLS, permit and FDIC data for every Florida county and ZIP code and names the source of every figure. See the full Polk County report.
Key Takeaways
- ✓Lake Alfred list prices are down 4.9% in 33850; Polk County is down 3.2%.
- ✓Homes are taking 99 days to sell.
- ✓Commercial property sold at a median $227 per square foot, against $166 countywide.
- ✓No commercial distress on the 2026 tax roll.
- ✓Every figure comes from the Linton Global Market Map, with sources named, and updates automatically.
About Michael R. Linton
Who is Michael R. Linton? Michael R. Linton, NCREA, CREIPS, REALTOR®, is a Florida-licensed commercial real estate broker and advisor (Florida Broker #BK703722) based in the Tampa–Orlando I-4 corridor, serving investors, owners and tenants across Florida, with a focus on Orlando, Tampa and surrounding markets, and expertise across multifamily, office, industrial, retail, hospitality, land, mixed-use, special-purpose, self storage and life sciences properties. He leads Linton Global Solutions and HireMikeLinton.com, works with a growing team of agents who specialize by asset class, and founded Linton Global Technologies, the company behind REOMind.ai.
Why choose Michael R. Linton for Lake Alfred? Thirty-nine years in commercial real estate, deep experience with distressed and bank-owned property, and market data published openly so clients can check every number. See the Florida commercial broker profile.
Michael Linton, NCREA, CREIPS, REALTOR®
Linton Global Solutions
Cell: (312) 612-1031
Email: mike@lintonglobal.com
LintonGlobal.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Lake Alfred, FL real estate market going up or down?+
Softening. As of September 2026, median list prices were down 4.9% in 33850 from a year earlier, against down 3.2% for Polk County. Homes took 99 days to sell, and active listings were up 22.4% from a year ago.
How much do homes cost in Lake Alfred?+
The median list price was $344,995 in September 2026. In 2025 mortgage (HMDA) data, the median home-purchase price was $335,000 and the median buyer earned $99,000.
How much is commercial real estate selling for in Lake Alfred?+
Arm’s-length commercial and industrial sales on the 2026 Polk County tax roll had a median of $227 per square foot in Lake Alfred, versus $166 countywide, a premium. There were 20 such sales across 168 commercial parcels.
Is there distressed or bank-owned commercial property in Lake Alfred?+
Very little. The 2026 tax roll shows no commercial distress transfers or bank-held parcels in Lake Alfred’s ZIP codes, against 48 distress transfers and 20 bank-held parcels across Polk County.
Is Lake Alfred a good place to own rental property?+
About 27% of households rent, and HUD’s FY2027 fair market rent for a two-bedroom is $1,350 a month. Investors took 5.5% of 2025 home-purchase loans, against 10.7% countywide. Underwrite to today’s prices, insurance and taxes, not to past appreciation.
Where does this Lake Alfred market data come from?+
From the Linton Global Market Map, which joins Realtor.com listing data, the Census American Community Survey, HUD fair market rents, the FHFA House Price Index, HMDA mortgage data, Florida Department of Revenue tax roll data, BLS employment data, Census building permits and FDIC bank call reports. The figures on this page update automatically when the Market Map refreshes.
Who can help me buy or sell commercial property in Lake Alfred?+
Michael R. Linton, Florida Broker #BK703722, leads Linton Global Solutions and advises investors, owners, tenants and banks on commercial property, small multifamily, land, distressed assets and 1031 exchanges across Lake Alfred and Polk County. Call (312) 612-1031 or email mike@lintonglobal.com.
Works Cited
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and FFIEC. “HMDA Data Browser.” ffiec.cfpb.gov/data-browser. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. “BankFind Suite.” banks.data.fdic.gov. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.
- Federal Housing Finance Agency. “House Price Index.” www.fhfa.gov/data/hpi. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “Small Area Fair Market Rents.” HUD User, www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/smallarea. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.” www.bls.gov/cew. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau. “American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates” and “Building Permits Survey.” www.census.gov. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.
- Realtor.com Economic Research. “Housing Inventory: ZIP Level Data.” www.realtor.com/research/data. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.
- Florida Department of Revenue. “Property Tax Data Files (NAL/SDF).” 2026 final roll, Polk County, via LGData.
- AHeneen. “Mackay Estate, Lake Alfred.” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mackay_Estate_Lake_Alfred_Florida.JPG. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.
Disclosure: This article uses data tools developed by Linton Global Technologies. Michael R. Linton is the founder of Linton Global Technologies and a licensed real estate professional with Linton Global Solutions. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, legal, or financial advice.
Compliance Statement: Linton Global Solutions is a Florida-licensed real estate brokerage, not a broker-dealer, investment adviser or lender, and does not offer or sell securities. REOMind.ai provides decision support only; people make every final decision. Readers should conduct their own due diligence and consult qualified professionals before making investment decisions.
Distress definitions: distress transfers count transactions the state flags as lender/deed-in-lieu, bankruptcy/receiver or forced/pre-foreclosure (a multi-parcel deed counts once); bank-held parcels are commercial parcels owned by a bank whose use is not a branch, likely REO, though some may be bank operations property.
Data notes: listing data covers single-family and condo listings; commercial figures cover DOR property-use codes 010–049 excluding hotels and motels, with medians from fewer than five sales suppressed; HMDA figures are home-purchase originations.