Orlando existing home prices increased 7.1 percent in February which is the biggest one-month gain in more than 6 1/2 years after a 14.2 percent tumble in January.  The median price of all resales in the Orlando market in February was $109,200, which is up from $102,000 the month before but down by more than 26 percent from a year prior according to a report by the Orlando Regional Realtor Association. 

The association has begun distinguising between the prices paid for "normal" homes and those paid for distressed properties:  It reported that, in February, the median price for conventional sales was $168,000, a slight increase over January;  the median price for bank-owned sales was $71,000, also up slightly from January; but the median for short sales, which involve owners selling a property selling for less than what's owed on the mortgage, fellf rom $115,000 in January to $105,000.   Orlando is splitting into two markets: regular sales versus distressed sales.

Orlando had one of the hardest-hit condo markets in th nation when the housing bubble burst.  The area lead the U.S.  in converting apartments into condominiums in 2005, and the resulting over-supply helped force down prices in recent years.  The Florida Association of Realtors reported that, in January, the median price for a condo in Orlando was $49,700, or about half the statewide median.

With distressed sales dominating the market, investors are still flocking to Orlando with cash buyers from Cananda, Great Britian and other countries.