One of the state’s most talked about communities is about to open its first home.

Nocatee is a 30 square-mile development already underway in the northeast portion of St. Johns County, near Jacksonville, with 15 percent of the plan overlapping into Duval County.

It’s been 10 years in the planning, but the neighborhood isn’t cheap. And with the current state of the housing market, local real estate agents are beginning to rethink their strategies.

Nocatee is a town being built from the ground up - literally.

Even as the North Florida housing market boom has slowed considerably, a shocking 14,000-15,000 homes are planned for the new town.

Mark Downing of CornerStone Homes will see his first resident and Nocatee’s first family move into his development, Austin Park.

Due to a downturn in Florida home mortgage demand, CornerStone Homes, like many home builders across the country, has had to scale back its sales goals for its Nocatee community.

“Based on how hot the market was [before], we thought we could sell 8-9 homes a month, and it’s been closer to four or five homes a month,” Downing said.

Realtor Patricia Combs checked out the first Nocatee homes Thursday.

“This is going to be a gorgeous area,” Combs said.

She likes what she sees in Nocatee and at Austin Park. Homes in Austin Park start at $325,000 and average $400,000. That’s not exactly a cheap Florida mortgage - for a first-time buyer, especially.

Combs says the houses are priced right for what you get, but says she’ll have a tough time selling homes at that listing price right now.

“If they could come in with at least a notch lower that’s in the $250,000 to $300,000 range, I think they may have more buyers.”

However, Downing says land prices, construction costs, county requirements, and creating a desired look makes lowering the price a challenge.

Still, he and Florida real estate developers remain optimistic about selling homes in Nocatee and say the intrigue of living in a new town with all the great amenities will make people buy homes there.

SOURCE: First Coast News