Knightvest Adds to Orlando Portfolio

Knightvest Capital has acquired the Cortland Vera Sanford apartment community in metro Orlando, the ninth investment for Knightvest’s Fund II.

Built in 2018, the 332-unit apartment community is in Sanford, Fla., a northern Orlando suburb. The property was previously owned by Cortland.

The property features a mix of one-, two- and three-unit floor plans, including two-story townhouses with attached garages. Knightvest plans to renovate most of the units, making upgrades to the community’s amenities and common spaces.

As part of the renovation efforts, the new owner has rebranded the community as The Walton. Knightvest declined to disclose the purchase price.

Units rent for $1,570-$2,650 a month, with such amenities as kitchens with stainless steel appliances, custom cabinetry and walk-in closets. Common-area amenities include a saltwater pool, clubhouse and two-story fitness center.

Knightvest CEO David Moore said in a statement that Orlando offers an attractive combination of limited supply, job creation and population growth. He noted that added that replicating such a product in the market has become increasingly cost-prohibitive, and that the company is eyeing additional Orlando-area investment opportunities.

Strong development, slowing starts

Developers are still keen on Orlando. A total of 5,619 units, or 2 percent of existing stock, came online through May, Yardi Matrix reports, which is double the national pace of completions. But there is a limit: Construction starts have been declining since the beginning of the year.

Investors are less keen. Multifamily transaction volume reached $618 million in the first five months of 2025, which Yardi Matrix says is consistent with the overall slowdown in the metro over the last two years. During 2023 and 2024, investors acquired an average of $1.6 billion worth of Orlando multifamily assets each year. That figure is well below the highs of 2020 and 2021, which surpassed the $6 billion mark.

The market, as Moore noted, is still supported by job growth. Orlando employment expanded 1.9 percent year-over-year as of March, 100 basis points above the U.S. rate. Leisure and hospitality led the growth, accounting for 8,500 of the 34,100 net positions added over the 12-month period ending in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local unemployment stood at 3.3 percent as of April.