If you're house hunting in St. Johns County and want to skip the CDD fee, you've got real options. Buyers who ask about this most are usually empty nesters, retirees, or move-up buyers who don't need a water park and a lazy river in their backyard — they just want a solid neighborhood, good schools, and a smaller monthly bill.

Below are five St. Johns County communities that don't carry a CDD, plus one honorable mention near Palencia. We'll also cover what "no CDD" doesn't mean, because a smaller HOA bill can still catch you off guard if nobody walks you through what's included.

What Is a CDD Fee, and Why Are These Communities Different?

A community development district, or CDD, is a special local government created under Chapter 190 of the…

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Nocatee is one of Northeast Florida's premier master-planned communities, drawing move-up buyers with resort-style amenities, newer construction, and a high-income, family-oriented neighborhood profile. With a 2025 median home value above $677,000, it sits firmly in the premium tier of the Jacksonville metro.

Why is Nocatee, FL a top choice for move-up buyers?

Nocatee is a master-planned community in St. Johns County that consistently attracts move-up buyers because it combines resort-style amenities, newer construction options, and a high-income, family-oriented community profile. The most recent structured data, from a 2025 profile, shows a median home value above $677,000, placing Nocatee firmly in the premium tier of the Jacksonville…

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Relocating to Jacksonville, FL means choosing from one of the largest cities in the U.S. by land area, with distinct submarkets ranging from beach communities to master-planned suburbs. Key decisions involve neighborhood fit, commute reality, Florida's tax advantages, and understanding the local housing market before you buy.

What do you need to know before relocating to Jacksonville, FL?

Jacksonville, FL is one of the most compelling relocation destinations in the Southeast, thanks to Florida's no-state-income-tax advantage, a diverse housing market, and a metro area large enough to offer nearly every lifestyle. The most important thing to understand before you move: Jacksonville is enormous, and the neighborhood you choose will define your daily…

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RiverTown is one of the top-selling master-planned communities in St. Johns County, and it's easy to see why. It sits right on the St. Johns River, it's zoned for some of the best schools in the county, and the amenities feel like a permanent vacation. But beautiful doesn't automatically mean it's the right fit for your life. Before you put down a deposit, here are five things about RiverTown worth thinking through — the same things I walk buyers through every week as an independent buyer's agent who doesn't work for any builder.

1. RiverTown Is a Long Drive From the Beach



RiverTown sits out west along the St. Johns River, which is part of what makes it so scenic. But if beach access is a big part of your lifestyle, this is the first…

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On July 29, the Federal Reserve did what it's done at every meeting so far this year: it held its key interest rate steady. But this meeting had a wrinkle worth paying attention to, and it says something about where rates and the housing market might be headed. If you're buying, selling, or building in Northeast Florida, here's what actually matters in that decision — and what doesn't.


1. What the Fed Actually Decided on July 29



The Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-3 to keep its benchmark rate in the 3.50%–3.75% range, where it's sat since a series of cuts late last year. That part wasn't surprising. What was surprising: three regional Fed presidents voted against the hold because they wanted to raise rates instead — the first time three…

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Northeast Florida keeps showing up on "best places to live" lists, and a lot of that comes down to two things: great schools and great master-planned communities. In St. Johns County, two names come up in almost every conversation I have with buyers: Nocatee and RiverTown.

Both are beautiful. Both are growing fast. And both get compared by nearly every family who calls me asking, "which one is actually right for us?" So let's break it down, point by point, the same way I would if you were sitting across from me.


1. Location: Closer to the Beach, or Closer to the River?



The biggest difference is geography. Nocatee sits on the eastern side of St. Johns County, right along the Intracoastal Waterway, about five to eight miles from Ponte Vedra…

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Ponte Vedra Beach doesn't get much new construction. Most of the neighborhoods here were built decades ago, and homes rarely come up for sale. That's what makes Haven at Palm Valley worth a closer look. Toll Brothers is building just 20 gated homesites off Palm Valley, and Greg DeTullio recently walked through one of the standout floor plans, the Killian, to show buyers what downsizing without giving up luxury actually looks like in this market.

A quick note before we dive in: a few names got garbled in the auto-captions of the original video (that happens with home tours filmed on location). We've corrected the community and floor plan names below based on Toll Brothers' official listings, and flagged pricing and fees as approximate since builder…

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Nocatee shows up on almost every list of the best places to live in Florida, and most of that reputation is earned. But no community is perfect, and the honest trade-offs matter more once you're the one signing a contract. Here's an updated, 2026 look at what buyers should actually know about Nocatee before making an offer, based on how the community has grown and changed in recent years.


1. Home Spacing and Lot Sizes Still Vary a Lot by Neighborhood


Nocatee is made up of roughly 48 to 50 separate neighborhoods, each built by a different combination of builders with different lot widths and house styles. That means how close your house sits to your neighbor's depends entirely on which section of Nocatee you buy into.

Lot widths across…

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Every legislative session, Tallahassee passes a stack of new laws, and most Florida homeowners never hear about them until they show up on a tax bill, a zoning notice, or the evening news. On a recent episode of Thursday Night Live, Greg DeTullio and Rachel broke down the new laws most likely to affect Northeast Florida homeowners this year, from property taxes to a fast-track development rule already reshaping St. Johns County. Here's what they covered, cleaned up and fact-checked.


1. Property Taxes Are Getting a Two-Part Overhaul

The law almost everyone in Florida is talking about right now is a two-part package aimed at your property tax bill. The first part is a proposed constitutional amendment that voters will decide on this November. The…

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If you have a couple million dollars to spend and you want to live on the water in Ponte Vedra, you probably keep hearing two names: River Landing at Nocatee and Marsh Harbor. They sit less than a mile apart on opposite sides of the Intracoastal Waterway. But they are not the same kind of neighborhood, and picking the wrong one can cost you time, money, and a lot of frustration. Here is what actually separates them, section by section, so you can figure out which one fits how you want to live.


1. Two Very Different Kinds of Luxury on the Water

River Landing sits inside Nocatee, in a section called Twenty Mile, on the east side of the Intracoastal. Marsh Harbor sits just south of the Ponte Vedra bridge, on the west side, in an area locals call Palm…

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