eTown Homes for Sale

Single-family house with a lawn and trees

 What you are actually shopping

eTown is one community with a lot of streets that were laid out together. That is what master-planned means on a closing desk. There is a recorded plat, a declaration the buyer has to live with, and usually more than one set of papers: a master association, sometimes a neighborhood association under it, and often a community development district. Two listings can both say eTown and still not share the same fee, the same age rule, or the same gate, if a gate exists in that section. Ask which section the house is in before you compare two monthly numbers.

This page will not invent an amenity list, a builder roster, or a price. Those change, and a list written from memory sends people at the wrong model. What does not change is the homework. Before you write, read the declaration, the architectural rules, the resale documents the association issues, the budget, and the estoppel. If a community development district is on the house, read that assessment separately from the HOA dues. One is often a line on the Duval tax bill. The other is a private association bill. Adding them together, once, is the only way the payment is honest.

Del Webb is a section, not the whole place

Del Webb at eTown is the age-restricted section. The covenant there limits occupancy by age. The rest of eTown is built for a mix of ages, including households with children. If you need the age restriction, say so, and use the Del Webb page that already exists. If you do not want an age rule, do not let a Del Webb listing set the rules for a house outside that section. If you are not sure which section a street is in, ask before the tour. An offer written on the wrong set of covenants is an expensive way to find out.

Age-restricted housing has its own federal and state rules about who can live in the house. Read the recorded restriction for that section. Do not rely on a remark in the MLS that says "55 plus" without the document behind it. And do not apply that remark to a street that was never part of the age-restricted section.

Why 32256 is the wrong fence

The post office uses 32256 for a wide piece of the Southside. eTown is in that ZIP. So are Southpoint, Baymeadows, and Deerwood. Those are different streets, different associations, and often a different commute even though the ZIP code matches. If you filter only by 32256, you will tour houses that are not in eTown and you will miss the CDD and HOA comparison that actually matters inside eTown.

Use the links at the bottom for what they are. eTown listings are the community. ZIP 32256 is the wider mail code. Southside homes are the broader part of Jacksonville south of the river, which is larger than both. Search by ZIP is how you jump to a different code when eTown is not the right pocket. The list under this article should be the community, newest first, not the whole ZIP and not Del Webb alone.

 The papers a buyer has to read

Master-planned does not mean the documents are optional. On a resale, ask for the estoppel from each association that has a claim on the house, and ask for the community development district estoppel or payoff if a CDD assessment can be paid off or must be assumed. Read the budget. A low HOA dues line with a large CDD line on the tax bill is a different house from a high dues line and no district. Neither number is published on this page, because the number belongs to the section and the year, not to a blog.

Read the use rules before you assume a truck, a boat, a home business, a fence, or a rental will be allowed. Some sections are stricter than the master declaration. A PCS family that expects to rent the house at the next set of orders needs the leasing paragraph in writing, including any waiting period, cap on rentals, or minimum lease term. Get that answer from the documents and the association, not from a neighbor on the sidewalk.

On a newer resale, ask what warranties still run with the house and which ones died when the first owner moved. Ask who the warranty call goes to. This page will not name builders, because a builder list goes stale and a house on the resale market may have changed hands more than once. The permit and the warranty paperwork for that address are the record. Your inspector still walks the house. A warranty is not a substitute for an inspection, and an inspection is not a promise that every item is covered.

How to compare two eTown houses

Stay inside the same section when you can, match the bed count, and use closed sales from the last 90 days. Then put list price next to the price that closed. The payment is the principal and interest, plus the Duval tax estimate after you know whether homestead will apply, plus insurance, plus HOA dues, plus the CDD if it is billed separately or escrowed. Skip any one of those and the cheaper house can be the more expensive one.

Do not import a median from "Jacksonville" onto this community. Jacksonville is not one market. The Beaches, Mandarin, the Westside, the Northside, Orange Park, Fleming Island, and St. Johns County do not share a commute or an insurance bill with a street off 9B. This page will not invent a median price, an inventory count, or a days-on-market number for eTown. Pull the comps for the section you are writing on.

 Schools are Duval, and the zone is a lookup

eTown is in Duval County, so the district is Duval County Public Schools. The site is duvalschools.org. Check the zone for the address you are writing on. This page will not name a zoned elementary, middle, or high school for eTown, because a wrong zone is worse than no zone. Do not assume a house is zoned for a magnet. Stanton, Paxon, Douglas Anderson, Darnell Cookman, A. Philip Randolph, and Frank H. Peterson are magnets or dedicated programs. They are not the same thing as a neighborhood zone. An application school is something you apply to. It is not something the deed grants you.

Bell times still matter for a PCS morning even before you know the campus. Duval County Public Schools published the 2026-27 times in a May 11, 2026 article on duvalschools.org. The standard high school day is 7:10 a.m. to 2:05 p.m. Elementary stays 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Middle stays 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. That same page lists exceptions: A. Philip Randolph 8:00 a.m. to 2:55 p.m., Andrew Jackson 7:50 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., Darnell Cookman 7:50 a.m. to 2:50 p.m., Douglas Anderson 8:25 a.m. to 3:25 p.m., Frank H. Peterson 8:00 a.m. to 2:55 p.m., Paxon 8:10 a.m. to 2:55 p.m., Samuel W. Wolfson 8:10 a.m. to 2:55 p.m., Stanton 8:10 a.m. to 2:55 p.m., and Bridge to Success at Kite 9:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Use the zone lookup first. Then use the bell time for the school the zone, or the accepted magnet, actually names. This page will not invent a school grade or a test score.

 The drive: 9B and I-95

State Road 9B is the road this community is built off. It ties toward I-95 and toward the Baymeadows and Southpoint job base. That is the commute to plan if you work on the Southside. The St. Johns County line is south of here. A house across that line can feel close on a map and still be a different school district, a different property appraiser, and a different tax bill. Nocatee, for example, sits across that line in St. Johns County. Keep it in its own folder if you tour both.

If the duty station is NAS Jacksonville, Mayport, or another Northside gate, drive the route at the hour you will actually leave. South Jacksonville to a Northside base is a cross-county trip. This page will not print a minute count, because a minute count from a quiet Sunday is not a Monday. Say the gate on the first call so the search stays in a community you can live with, not only a community that photographed well.

Pond lots and low lots need a flood check even in a new-looking street. The MLS flood field is incomplete. Look up the address at the FEMA Map Service Center, msc.fema.gov/portal/home. Zone X is outside the Special Flood Hazard Area. Unshaded X is outside the 0.2 percent annual-chance floodplain. Shaded X, sometimes called Zone X500, is the 0.2 percent floodplain, an area protected by a levee, or sheet-flow flooding under a foot. Zone X is not a dry-house guarantee. Lenders on federally related loans do not have to require flood insurance in Zone X. Many owners still carry a preferred-risk or private policy. Do not expect a premium on this page. Risk Rating 2.0 prices the building, not a flat zone price. Zone AE is a Special Flood Hazard Area with a base flood elevation. A VA, FHA, or conventional loan tied to a federal-related lender requires flood insurance if the building is in that area. An elevation certificate can change the premium. It does not remove the zone. A Letter of Map Amendment is a separate FEMA process. Do not promise yourself one in the offer.

 Homestead for an eTown house is Duval

eTown is Duval County. The homestead application goes to the Duval County Property Appraiser, not to Clay, St. Johns, Nassau, or Columbia. Florida homestead is section 196.031. You must hold legal or equitable title and occupy the house as your permanent residence on January 1 of the tax year. The application statute is 196.011. Save Our Homes is 193.155. A wrongful homestead can become a lien under 196.161, with a 50 percent penalty and 15 percent interest. A clerical error by the appraiser is treated differently. One permanent residence. A residency-based exemption in another state can knock out Florida homestead. The Social Security number is mandatory.

As of fall 2026, the timely 2026 deadline has passed. March 1, 2026 was a Sunday, so the timely day was Monday, March 2, 2026, which St. Johns County and Nassau County both published. Late filing is only for extenuating circumstances, generally until 25 days after the TRIM notice is mailed, mid to late summer. Do not treat that late window as open today. Ask the Duval appraiser the day you call. A buyer closing this fall who will own the house and live in it on January 1, 2027 files for the 2027 tax year by March 1, 2027. Buying in October does not create a 2026 exemption.

How to file in Duval

The online portal is homestead.coj.net. Phone (904) 255-5900. In person, the office is 231 E. Forsyth Street, Suite 260, Jacksonville, FL 32202. The deed must be in the owner's name before the online system will take the application. The office says to allow about 60 days after closing for the deed to post. If you are inside that window and the deed has not posted, file in person. Do not wait out the 60 days and then miss March 1.

The online session does not save. Plan about an hour, and do not start it on a phone in a parking lot with half the documents in the other car. Have these in front of you:

• Florida driver license or Florida ID that shows the homestead address, including the license number and the issue date.
• Vehicle tag.
• Voter registration, if you are registered.
• Date of birth and Social Security number.
• Date you became a Florida resident, date you occupied the house, and the purchase date.
• The mailing address on your last IRS return.

Adding a person onto an existing homestead, or adding an extra exemption onto a homestead you already have, must be done in person. Spouses should both be ready. If the house is in a trust, you need beneficial title and you should bring the trust. Have the closing attorney, or a Florida attorney, confirm the trust qualifies. This page is not legal advice.

After approval, homestead renews. The appraiser mails a renewal. File again if ownership, marital status, or residency changes. Portability from a prior Florida homestead is Form DR-501T, filed with Duval, the new county, generally with the new application. The amount that transfers is capped by statute. Do not budget a dollar figure for portable savings until the appraiser calculates it. If you are leaving a homestead in Clay, St. Johns, Nassau, or Columbia to buy in eTown, the form still goes to Duval, not back to the old county.

What $51,411 means on a Duval bill

The 2026 exemption, confirmed by Eddie Creamer, the St. Johns County Property Appraiser, in March 2026, and matching the Florida Department of Revenue CPI notice, is a full homestead total of $51,411. The first $25,000 comes off all levies, including the school levy. The additional $26,411 comes off non-school levies only, and only on assessed value between $50,000 and $76,411. The band from $25,001 to $50,000 is taxable. The CPI used for the cap is 2.7 percent. The Save Our Homes cap for 2026 is 2.7 percent, the lesser of 3 percent and CPI. That cap limits assessed-value growth on a homestead. It does not cap the tax bill. Duval's millage is on the TRIM notice. Do not borrow a rate from a different county, and do not invent one.

The senior local-option extra exemption requires age 65 on January 1 and household income at or under $38,686 for 2026. Counties adopt it or they do not. Ask the Duval appraiser. Do not assume an extra $50,000. The long-term senior option, 25 years on the homestead with a just value under $250,000, is a separate local option. Ask about that one by name.

Florida has no state income tax. What you pay on the house is local: county, school board, city, and special districts. In a community like eTown, a community development district can be one of those lines. The appraiser sets value. The taxing authorities set millage. The tax collector sends the bill. The Duval Tax Collector is at jacksonville.gov/departments/tax-collector.aspx and duvaltc.com, phone (904) 255-5700, email taxcollector@coj.net, main office 231 E. Forsyth Street. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The discount the Duval Tax Collector published is 4 percent if paid by November 30, 3 percent by December 31, 2 percent by January 31, 1 percent by February 28, then due by March 31 before the bill is delinquent. Other counties use the same Florida discount statute. Confirm the date on the bill in front of you. Deeds in Duval record at the Duval County Clerk of Courts.

Stamps at closing, as statute math

Deed documentary stamps in Duval are $0.70 per $100 of consideration, or any fraction of $100, under section 201.02. Clay, St. Johns, Nassau, and Columbia use the same $0.70. Miami-Dade does not, and you are not in Miami-Dade. A math example, not an eTown price: $400,000 is 4,000 units times $0.70, which is $2,800. Consideration of $400,050 rounds up to $400,100, which is 4,001 units times $0.70, which is $2,800.70. Note stamps are $0.35 per $100 of the note, rounded up to the next $100, under section 201.08, usually a buyer line. The contract can change who pays. Intangible tax on a new mortgage is $2 per $1,000 of the amount financed, usually a buyer line, and not part of the seller total unless the contract says so. A divorce transfer of the marital home can be exempt from deed stamps under 201.02. Ask the closing attorney. That sentence is not tax advice. Title insurance premiums are not printed here.

 If the other house is across a county line

Buyers cross-shop eTown with Clay, St. Johns, Nassau, and sometimes Columbia. The January 1 occupancy rule, the March 1 deadline, the $51,411 structure, and portability on Form DR-501T are Florida rules. The counter changes. File only in the county where that house sits. Do not file Duval homestead on a St. Johns parcel because the mailing city said Jacksonville.

Clay County

Clay County Property Appraiser Tracy Scott Drake: ccpao.com, online at exemption.ccpao.com/Homestead, phone (904) 284-6305, extension 1. Office: County Administration Building, second floor, 477 Houston Street, Green Cove Springs, FL 32043, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A timely filing can be online, by mail, or in person. After the March 1 deadline, the office says file in person with a late-file explanation, up to 25 days after TRIM. Proof is a Florida ID at the homestead address plus one more item, such as a voter card, vehicle registration, W-2, federal return, or utility bill. Tax Collector Diane Hutchings: claycountytax.com, phone (904) 269-6320, property tax phone (904) 269-6395. Schools: oneclay.net. Orange Park and Fleming Island are Clay. They are not eTown, and they are not Duval schools.

St. Johns County

Property Appraiser Eddie Creamer: sjcpa.gov/homesteadportability and sjcpa.gov/exemptions, phone (904) 827-5500, email sjcpa@sjcpa.gov. The Florida driver license or ID must show the homestead address. Licenses updated after November 1, 2023 may have a new number. Upload the updated card. Neither spouse may hold a residency exemption in another state. Tax collector: sjctax.us, phone (904) 209-2250, 4030 Lewis Speedway, St. Augustine. Schools: stjohns.k12.fl.us. A community just south of eTown can be St. Johns. Check the parcel before you assume Duval.

Nassau County

Property Appraiser A. Michael Hickox: ncpafl.com homestead, phone (904) 491-7300, toll free 1-888-615-4398. Main office 96135 Nassau Place, Suite 4, Yulee, FL 32097. Also 416 Centre Street, Fernandina Beach, and 45401 Mickler Street, Callahan. The 2026 applications closed March 2, 2026. The 2027 applications are already open, online or in person, through March 1, 2027, and a qualified 2026 purchase shows on the August 2027 TRIM. Tax collector John M. Drew: nassautaxes.com, phone (904) 491-7400. Schools: nassau.k12.fl.us.

Columbia County

Lake City is Columbia County, west on I-10, and it is a different school district and a different tax office from eTown. Property Appraiser Jeff Hampton requires the initial homestead application in person at 135 NE Hernando Avenue, Suite 238, Lake City, FL 32055, phone (386) 758-1083. Sites: columbia.floridapa.com and ccpafl.com/property-tax-exemptions. Do not use a third-party filing site. Tax collector: columbiataxcollector.com, phone (386) 758-1080, Suite 125 in the same building. The Northeast Florida MLS may not carry Columbia County. If you are shopping Lake City and the feed looks empty, call and we will pull the board that has that city. Do not file a Duval homestead application for a Columbia parcel.

 The loan, the offer, and the call

A pre-qualification is a conversation. A pre-approval is a credit pull plus documents an underwriter reviewed. Clear to close comes after the contract, the appraisal, the title, and the conditions. A clean W-2 file can move in a few days. A PCS file needs the LES, orders or a letter in lieu, the Certificate of Eligibility, and an explanation of BAH. This page will not promise 24 hours and will not quote a rate. Get the letter written before you write on a house with a CDD and an HOA, because the payment those two add is part of what the lender will count.

VA minimum property requirements still apply if you are using a VA loan. The loan does not repair a roof the appraiser will not pass. As-is means as-is. If you are also looking at a manufactured house somewhere else in Duval, that file has its own rules: you own the land, the home is on a permanent foundation, the tongue, axles, and wheels are off, and the title is real estate, not a motor vehicle. A rented pad is not that loan. Say the property type on the call.

When you call (904) 309-0609, say eTown, say whether you need the age-restricted section or the rest of the community, and say whether a 32256 search has been mixing in Southpoint, Baymeadows, or Deerwood. Give the beds, the must-have on a lease if you will rent at the next orders, and the gate you drive to. We will keep the search on the community, not on the whole ZIP, and we will not paste houses onto this page that are not in the feed.

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Military Realty of Florida. (904) 309-0609.