Port Orange vs. Daytona Beach vs. Ormond Beach: Where Should Volusia County Rental Investors Buy in 2026?
Three cities, three price points, three very different rental plays — a market-by-market comparison for investors deciding where to put capital in Volusia County right now.
One County, Three Different Rental Markets
Volusia County's three largest cities along the Halifax River corridor — Daytona Beach, Port Orange and Ormond Beach — sit within a 20-minute drive of one another, but they don't behave like one market. As of late August 2026, Daytona Beach offers the lowest entry price and the highest estimated gross rental yield of the three, Port Orange combines a mid-range price point with the most buyer-favorable conditions, and Ormond Beach commands the highest price and the fastest-moving, most competitive listings. For a rental investor working with a fixed budget, the right city depends less on which market is "best" and more on which tradeoff — yield, appreciation, tenant pool, or carrying cost — matters most to the strategy.
Here's how the three compare, market by market, using the most current publicly available data for each.
Daytona Beach: The Value Play With the Highest Estimated Yield
Daytona Beach remains the most affordable of the three cities and, on paper, the highest-yielding. As of July 2026, the median home price in Daytona Beach was $273,900, up 4.55% year-over-year, with homes spending a relatively long 84 days on market and about 2.37 months of supply. Only around 7.6% of listings sold above asking price — a market where buyers still have room to negotiate despite the price growth.
On the rental side, average rent across all unit types in Daytona Beach ran about $1,610 a month as of August 2026, essentially flat from a year earlier (+0.21%). A two-bedroom unit averaged $1,637 a month. Running that two-bedroom rent against the citywide median price produces an estimated gross rental yield of roughly 7.2% — the strongest of the three cities, before taxes, insurance, vacancy and maintenance are factored in.
Daytona Beach's tenant base is broad by design: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona International Speedway, and the Halifax Health hospital system all anchor steady local employment and rental demand that doesn't depend entirely on tourism season, even though the beachside submarket (including neighboring Daytona Beach Shores) also supports a separate short-term and vacation-rental strategy investors should model on its own.
Bottom Line: Daytona Beach is the value-and-yield play — lower entry cost, a broader (if less affluent) tenant pool, and the highest estimated gross return of the three cities on current numbers.
Port Orange: The Buyer's-Market Cash-Flow Play
Just south of Daytona Beach, Port Orange (ZIP 32129) offers a middle price point with the most favorable conditions for buyers right now. As of August 22, 2026, the median home value in Port Orange was $286,553 — down 3.4% over the past year even as the five-year annualized trend remains positive (+2.5%). Homes are moving in a median of 82 days, and supply has climbed to about 6.5 months, which is squarely buyer's-market territory. A local market scorecard puts Port Orange's investment score at 67 out of 100 on those conditions.
Port Orange's rental fundamentals are the strongest documented of the three cities: a median monthly rent of roughly $1,686 (per the Zillow Observed Rent Index) against the current median home value works out to an estimated gross rental yield of about 7.06%. Typical monthly ownership costs run about 26.8% of the area's median household income (roughly $65,936) at current mortgage rates near 6.65% — a useful gut-check for how a landlord's carrying costs stack up against area wages, and by extension against what the local tenant pool can realistically pay in rent.
Port Orange's draw for renters includes its position along the Dunlawton Avenue corridor near the Pavilion at Port Orange shopping district, its proximity to Daytona State College's Port Orange-area presence, and easy access to both I-95 and the beaches via the Dunlawton and Port Orange causeways — a commuter-friendly profile that tends to support steadier, longer-term tenancies than a beachside submarket.
Bottom Line: Port Orange currently offers the most negotiating room of the three cities (6.5 months of supply) paired with rental economics nearly identical to Daytona Beach's — a combination that favors patient buyers over the next several months.
Ormond Beach: The Higher Price, Faster-Moving Market
Ormond Beach is the outlier on price and pace. As of the third quarter of 2026, the median home price in Ormond Beach was $400,000 — down 2.4% year-over-year — but homes are selling in a median of just 55 days, the fastest of the three cities, with about 4.7 months of supply and a 96.5% sold-to-list ratio. Roughly 272 homes were active on the market against 697 sales over the trailing 12 months, a sales pace of about 58 homes per month.
Rents in Ormond Beach have cooled somewhat from a May 2026 peak of $2,300 a month to a median of about $2,100 as of late August 2026 (down 2.3% year-over-year), which still runs roughly 9% above the national median rent. Measured against the city's median home price, that works out to an estimated gross yield of about 6.3% — the lowest of the three cities, though Ormond Beach's higher price point has historically also carried stronger long-term appreciation and a more affluent, often 55-and-over and second-home buyer base, which shapes a different exit strategy than a straight cash-flow hold.
Ormond Beach's identity — a beach town with a long-established golf heritage and neighborhood prestige, positioned above Daytona Beach but below the Space Coast's most expensive submarkets on price — tends to attract higher-quality, longer-tenured tenants willing to pay a premium for the address, schools and quieter residential character, particularly in and around Ormond-by-the-Sea and the city's historic core near the Halifax River.
Bottom Line: Ormond Beach costs more to enter and yields less on paper today, but its faster absorption, higher rents in absolute dollars, and more affluent tenant base make it a different kind of hold — appreciation and quality-of-tenant over raw yield.
The Numbers Side by Side
| Daytona Beach | Port Orange (32129) | Ormond Beach | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $273,900 (Jul 2026) | $286,553 (Aug 2026) | $400,000 (Q3 2026) |
| YoY price change | +4.55% | -3.4% | -2.4% |
| Days on market | 84 | 82 | 55 |
| Months of supply | 2.37 | 6.5 | 4.7 |
| Representative median rent | $1,637 (2BR) | $1,686 | $2,100 |
| Estimated gross rental yield | ~7.2% | ~7.06% | ~6.3% |
These are citywide medians blending property types and sizes, not underwriting numbers for a specific address — use them to compare markets directionally, then run the real numbers on any property before an offer.
Insurance: The Line Item That Changes the Math Everywhere
Across all three cities, homeowners insurance remains the cost that most surprises investors modeling returns from out of state. Statewide, Florida's average annual homeowners premium for a $300,000 dwelling ran about $3,815 as of April 2026, reflecting Citizens Property Insurance Corporation's 2026 rate cuts (roughly 8.7%) and private-carrier reductions in the 7–10% range. Volusia County does not fall among either Florida's 20 most expensive or 20 least expensive counties in that same analysis — a rough signal that Daytona Beach, Port Orange and Ormond Beach sit closer to the state's middle than its coastal-Panhandle or South Florida extremes, though actual quotes vary significantly by construction age, roof condition, and flood-zone status, especially near the Halifax River and beachside. Get a real quote before finalizing any purchase price on a rental.
The Investor Takeaway
On current data, Daytona Beach and Port Orange offer nearly identical, higher estimated gross yields (7.0–7.2%) at a lower entry price, with Port Orange currently giving buyers more room to negotiate due to its 6.5 months of supply. Ormond Beach costs roughly 40% more to enter, yields an estimated one full point less on paper, but moves faster (55 days on market) and rents for meaningfully more in absolute dollars to a more affluent, often longer-term tenant. None of these figures account for property-specific insurance, taxes, HOA fees, or vacancy — they're a starting point for narrowing a search, not a final underwriting model. The right city is the one whose tradeoff — yield versus appreciation, workforce tenant versus premium tenant, entry cost versus carrying cost — matches the strategy already in place.
Work With Newkirk in Volusia County
Whether the goal is Daytona Beach's yield, Port Orange's current buyer's-market pricing, or Ormond Beach's faster-moving, higher-rent profile, Newkirk Investments can help pull comparable active listings and run the real numbers on a specific property in any of the three cities. Connect with the Newkirk team at newkirk-investments.com, by phone at 386-290-5356, or at hello@newkirk-investments.com.
SOURCES
- Daytona Beach, FL Housing Market Data — Houzeo, July 2026
- Port Orange, FL (32129) Housing Market Scorecard — Momentum Realty, August 22, 2026
- Ormond Beach Real Estate Market Report — Q3 2026, MaxLife Realty
- Average Rent in Daytona Beach, FL — RentCafe, August 2026
- Average Rent in Ormond Beach, FL — Zumper, August 25, 2026
- Florida Home Insurance Rates by County 2026 — Broker One, April 19, 2026
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