- December 16, 2025
Port Orange was recently named the seventh healthiest city for its housing market in Florida, according to the fourth annual Healthiest Housing Market study released by financial technology company SmartAsset.
The study was based on home values, the average number of years residents spend in homes, ease of sale and the costs associated with ownership. More than 200 Florida communities were included in the study.
Affordability accounted for 40% of the housing health index, while each of the other three factors accounted for 20%.
While West Melbourne topped the list, when it came to the average years spent in a home, Port Orange surpassed the city with 12.7 years — West Melbourne only had 11.1 years. In Port Orange, there was also an average of 6.9% for homes with negative equity and 6.4% for the number of homes that are decreasing in value.
The study also found that the average amount of days a house spends on the market in Port Orange is only 44.1, which is also less than West Melbourne. According to the study, the longer it takes to sell a house, the less fluid the market.
AJ Smith, VP of Financial Education for SmartAsset, said that other towns outperformed Port Orange in two areas: the number of years residents spent in a home and housing costs as a percentage of income, which was 21.1%. But while cities such as Fort Meade and Dade City surpassed West Melbourne for the number of years living in a home, factors such as homes decreasing in value were still on the high end.
"While of course places that perform well across all of the study's categories tend to rank better, you’ll note that affordable places climb higher because we weighted affordability at 40% of a county’s ranking," Smith said. "However, some counties that are highly affordable rank lower since they underperform in other metrics. Therefore, it’s important to look at each county’s performance across all metrics."
Realty Pros Assured Realtor Kelly Riggle said that she believes Port Orange is doing well and has seen growth in a variety of age brackets when it comes to buyers.
According to Riggle, a major draw for people to move and stay in the area is the number of schools throughout the city. Riggle's own three children are all attending schools in the area.
"It helps keep the value of homes up and the way Port Orange has developed in general is pleasing," Riggle said. "We have great restaurants, events that are open to all residents. It's developed beautifully."
Jeff Moore, sales associate for ICI Homes, a homebuilding company, has worked in the Port Orange area for almost seven years and said he has also seen growth that is different from other communities where he has worked. Moore said that in 2012 and 2013 the market in Port Orange was more sluggish, but from 2014 on he has seen a spike in buyers wanting to build, especially as foreclosed homes are coming off the market.
Moore said that after 2013 the company started seeing more of a demand for homes and began including more standards, such as eight-foot doors and kitchen backsplash, with the houses that were being constructed as people began wanting to buy new.
Moore added that about 90% of the contracts he had were with families who were looking for schools for their children. He said that because of this, he has seen a large number of young families looking to move into the area.
"Port Orange has different pockets and there's a different demographic," Moore said. "I think it will keep growing."
