I’m Krista Fracke, and almost none of it is in St. Augustine. The new-construction market with a St. Augustine mailing label lives in the master-planned communities of northwest St. Johns County — 15 to 25 minutes from the historic district, and squarely inside the county school system buyers are actually shopping for. Here’s every community, its live inventory, and the CDD catch behind the pricing.
By Krista Fracke — Broker Associate, Christie's International Real Estate First Coast · 20+ years in Northeast Florida · 500+ closings · client reviews
Search “new construction St. Augustine” and the results are communities that have never been inside the city: the postal service simply stamps “St. Augustine” across a huge swath of St. Johns County. What the label honestly delivers is the county itself — the school district and services — plus new-build pricing that undercuts Nocatee for a comparable house. The live numbers as of today: builder inventory in this ring runs a median of about $239/sq ft against roughly $296/sq ft in Nocatee — the twenty-minutes-from-the-beach discount, quantified.
The two newest builder listings on the MLS across these communities — what the ring’s pricing actually looks like today.
The volume leader — multiple builders, the widest floor-plan spread in the ring, and the famous no-CDD math that makes its monthly cost beat look-alike communities.
CDD: NO CDD — deliberately built without one; a core selling point
The amenity play — Kayak Club lagoon-style pools, miles of trails, and an active-lifestyle brand that reads like Nocatee at a discount.
CDD: Trout Creek CDD — ≈$2,300–$2,900/yr per the FY 2025–26 adopted budget
Woods-and-water positioning on Six Mile Creek — kayak launches and pine-trail mileage, with some of the ring’s most accessible new-build pricing (and its 55+ line, Reverie).
CDD: Six Mile Creek CDD
Built around a 43-acre paddle-friendly lake with a boathouse-styled amenity center — the ring’s most distinctive centerpiece.
CDD: Carries a district assessment — I pull the exact line for any home
The riverfront one — Mattamy’s master plan on the St. Johns, with riverwalk trails and sunset views no inland community can copy (plus WaterSong, its 55+ village).
CDD: RiverTown CDD
The SR-16 option — closer to the historic city than the CR-210 corridor, with Summer Bay, its gated 55+ village, inside the plan.
CDD: Carries a district assessment — I pull the exact line for any home
The established option — World Golf Village’s family side is mostly built out, so this is where you buy the ring’s mature landscaping at resale pricing.
CDD: Murabella CDD
Live counts and ranges from current MLS inventory. CDD figures cited only where a district’s adopted budget publishes them; every district sets its own schedule by neighborhood and lot.
The on-site sales agent works for the builder — not for you. Bring your own representation to the first visit (it typically costs you nothing, and the contract is written in the builder’s favor), and make every comparison on true monthly cost: sticker plus CDD plus HOA plus insurance. That’s the math that makes a no-CDD SilverLeaf quote beat a cheaper-looking sticker two exits away.
Why do these communities have St. Augustine addresses if they’re not in the city?
Postal geography. "St. Augustine" on the mailing label covers a huge swath of northwest St. Johns County that has never been inside the city limits — SilverLeaf, Shearwater, TrailMark, and their neighbors are 15–25 minutes from the historic district. What the address does honestly deliver is the county: St. Johns County schools and services, which is the real reason most of these buyers are here.
How much cheaper is new construction here than in Nocatee?
Meaningfully — the live price-per-square-foot comparison on this page is computed from current builder inventory in both markets, and the ring has consistently run well below Nocatee’s new-build pricing. The trade is commute and coast: Nocatee buys golf-cart beach culture; the ring buys more house for the money, twenty minutes further from the sand.
What’s the catch — do these communities have CDD fees?
Most do, and it’s the number that closes the gap with the sticker price. Community Development District assessments ride the county tax bill on top of HOA dues — Shearwater’s district budget puts its assessments around $2,300–$2,900 a year, and TrailMark, RiverTown, and Murabella carry districts too. The famous exception is SilverLeaf, deliberately built with no CDD. I put the CDD line into the true monthly cost on every new-construction home my buyers consider.
Which St. Augustine-area communities are still building new homes?
SilverLeaf, Shearwater, TrailMark, Beacon Lake, RiverTown, and Grand Oaks all have active builder inventory; the live counts on this page update from the MLS. World Golf Village’s single-family neighborhoods are essentially built out, which makes Murabella the ring’s established-resale option rather than a new-build one.
St. Johns County new construction →
The full-county market, builder by builder
The St. Johns County CDD map →
Every district — and the famous no-CDD exception
Touring model homes this weekend?
Tell me which communities are on your list — I’ll pull the CDD and HOA lines for each, run the true monthly numbers side by side, and come with you. The builder’s agent has a quota; I have your side of the table.
