Tavares, FL Market Update: What the Data Says for Buyers, Sellers and Investors
List prices down 2.6% in 32778, 76 days on market and commercial at $148 per square foot across ZIP code 32778. Every number from the Linton Global Market Map, as of September 2026.
Photo: Tavares City Hall by Connor J. Williams, CC BY 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 Tavares and across Lake County through Linton Global Solutions.
Tavares 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 Tavares
Tavares is the county seat of Lake County, set on Lake Dora in the Harris Chain of Lakes and branded “America’s Seaplane City” for the seaplane base on its downtown waterfront. County government, the courts and AdventHealth Waterman hospital give it a steady base of office, medical and service tenants, and its commercial property runs along US 441, SR 19 and the downtown blocks around Wooton Park.
Tavares is a softening housing market, and its commercial property trades at a discount to the rest of Lake County.
- Homes: median list prices of $342,500, down 2.6% in 32778 from a year ago; Lake County is down 1.8%.
- Supply: 178 active listings in 32778 (up 20.7%); 76 days on market.
- Commercial: median $148 per square foot, versus $184 countywide.
- Distress: 1 commercial distress transfers or bank-held parcels on the 2026 tax roll.
Where Tavares Is
This report covers one ZIP code: 32778, Tavares, including downtown and the Lake Dora waterfront, the county government complex, and the US 441 and SR 19 corridors north toward Eustis and south toward Howey-in-the-Hills.
Housing Market
| Realtor.com, September 2026 | 32778 | Lake County |
|---|---|---|
| Median list price | $342,500 | $399,999 |
| vs. a year ago | -2.6% | -1.8% |
| Active listings | 178 | 2,513 |
| Active vs. a year ago | +20.7% | +3.1% |
| Median days on market | 76 | 74 |
| Listings with a price cut | 20.8% | 23.1% |
| Home values, 5 years (FHFA) | +57.5% | — |
The highest-priced ZIP code is 32778 at $342,500. Homes are taking longer to sell than the county average. The FHFA House Price Index shows five-year gains of 57.5%; the run-up is behind us, and today is about pricing to the market.
Who Is Buying: Mortgage Data
| HMDA 2025 home purchases | 32778 | Lake County |
|---|---|---|
| Home-purchase loans | 339 | 7,639 |
| Median purchase price | $345,000 | $395,000 |
| Median buyer income | $93,000 | $114,000 |
| FHA / VA / USDA loans | 39.1% | 37.2% |
| Investor purchases | 7.6% | 10.8% |
Investors took the largest share of purchase loans in 32778 (7.6%). Source: the CFPB's HMDA data browser.
Rents
HUD's FY2027 Small Area Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom is $1,570. The strongest renter base is in 32778, where 21% of households rent. Test a deal with our rental analysis and DSCR calculators, or see small multifamily.
Commercial Real Estate
| 2026 tax roll | 32778 | Lake County |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial & industrial parcels | 976 | 7,791 |
| Building area (million SF) | 3.11 | 41.88 |
| Median year built | 1996 | 1987 |
| Arm’s-length sales | 20 | 186 |
| Median sale $/SF | $148 | $184 |
| Distress transfers / bank-held parcels | 1 / 0 | 24 / 13 |
Tavares commercial property follows the county seat: small office and professional buildings near the courthouse, medical office around the hospital, and strip retail and service property along US 441. Downtown waterfront sites carry a premium, while the highway corridors trade on traffic counts and access.
Tavares has about 3.1 million square feet of commercial buildings and recorded 20 arm's-length sales at a median $148 per square foot, below the county's $184, helped by newer buildings. There were 1 distress signals; we score them with Linton Global Technologies' CREDDS Framework (see our distressed commercial real estate hub).
In Tavares, government and the hospital are the anchor tenants for the whole town. Office and medical buildings near the courthouse and AdventHealth Waterman hold value because that demand doesn’t leave; price them on the tenants, not the square footage.
Jobs, Permits and the County Economy
| Lake County | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 412,924 |
| Median household income | $73,161 |
| Unemployment rate (BLS) | 4.9% |
| Private jobs (BLS QCEW) | 118,622 · +1.1% |
| Average annual pay | $54,092 |
| Housing permits, year to date | 3,529 · +6.3% |
Lake County jobs were up 1.1% over the latest year per the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, with unemployment at 4.9%. Housing permits are up 6.3% this year per the Census Building Permits Survey. 32778 grew 11.5% in population over the Census survey period, the 66th-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: the discount to the county is the opportunity, for buyers who can underwrite older stock. 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 Lake County report.
Key Takeaways
- ✓Tavares list prices are down 2.6% in 32778; Lake County is down 1.8%.
- ✓Homes are taking 76 days to sell.
- ✓Commercial property sold at a median $148 per square foot, against $184 countywide.
- ✓1 commercial distress signals 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 Tavares? 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 Tavares, FL real estate market going up or down?+
Softening. As of September 2026, median list prices were down 2.6% in 32778 from a year earlier, against down 1.8% for Lake County. Homes took 76 days to sell, and active listings were up 20.7% from a year ago.
How much do homes cost in Tavares?+
The median list price was $342,500 in September 2026. In 2025 mortgage (HMDA) data, the median home-purchase price was $345,000 and the median buyer earned $93,000.
How much is commercial real estate selling for in Tavares?+
Arm’s-length commercial and industrial sales on the 2026 Lake County tax roll had a median of $148 per square foot in Tavares, versus $184 countywide, a discount. There were 20 such sales across 976 commercial parcels.
Is there distressed or bank-owned commercial property in Tavares?+
Some. The 2026 tax roll shows 1 commercial distress transfers and 0 bank-held parcels in Tavares’s ZIP codes, out of 24 and 13 across Lake County.
Is Tavares a good place to own rental property?+
About 21% of households rent, and HUD’s FY2027 fair market rent for a two-bedroom is $1,570 a month. Investors took 7.6% of 2025 home-purchase loans, against 10.8% countywide. Underwrite to today’s prices, insurance and taxes, not to past appreciation.
Where does this Tavares 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 Tavares?+
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 Tavares and Lake 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, Lake County, via LGData.
- Connor J. Williams. “Tavares City Hall.” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tavares_city_hall_tavares_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. CREDDS and REOMind.ai provide 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.