9 Markets · Side by Side

Compare Northeast Florida housing markets.

Every major housing market we track in one comparison. Median price, days on market, inventory, and price per square foot across Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, St. Augustine, Palm Coast, Daytona Beach, Orange Park, Gainesville, Ocala, and Lake City. Built for buyers and sellers deciding between two or three options.

Home›Housing Data›Compare Northeast Florida Markets
Sources. Redfin, Movoto, Houzeo, NEFAR RealMLS, OMCAR, county property appraiser records, Florida Realtors monthly reports Last refresh. Q2 2026
The numbers, head to head

All 9 markets, sorted by median price.

Market Median price $/sqft DOM MoS Best for
Ponte Vedra Beach
St. Johns County beaches
 $1.1M+ $385 95 3.5 Luxury beach, top schools
St. Augustine
Historic + coastal
 $525K $272 82 4.8 History buffs, equestrian
Jacksonville MSA
Duval County baseline
 $390K $210 43 3.8 Urban access, breadth
Palm Coast
Flagler County
 $365K $201 104 2.8 Coastal retirement
Daytona Beach
Volusia County
 $315K $196 87 3.4 Coastal value
Gainesville
Alachua County
 $295K $189 60 2.0 UF + investor demand
Orange Park
Clay County
 $294K $188 85 4.7 Jax commute, value
Ocala
Marion County
 $285K $165 96 3.2 Retirement, equestrian
Lake City
Columbia County
 $285K $147 95 Variable First-time, lowest entry

DOM = median days on market. MoS = months of supply. Click any market for the full breakdown.

If you're shopping

Match your situation to the right market.

First-time buyer
Lowest entry point with a real commute
→ Orange Park
Median $294K with 30 to 40 minute access to most Jacksonville employers. Better insurance picture than coastal. Fleming Island and Middleburg expand the search radius without breaking the budget. Full Orange Park data →
Family with school-age kids
Strongest schools, willing to pay for them
→ Ponte Vedra Beach or St. Johns
St. Johns County public schools rank #1 in Florida. Ponte Vedra median runs $1.1M+. For a fraction of that price, Nocatee and World Golf Village give you the same school zoning with smaller lots. Full Ponte Vedra data →
Active retiree
Coastal lifestyle, inland insurance bills
→ Palm Coast or Ocala
Palm Coast for ocean access and golf-community living at $365K median. Ocala for active-adult 55+ communities (Stone Creek, On Top of the World) and World Equestrian Center adjacency. Both run materially less insurance than Ponte Vedra. Palm Coast → · Ocala →
Investor (rental)
Where the cash flow math works
→ Gainesville or Jacksonville
Gainesville for student rental demand around UF (40%+ investor share in 32603). Jacksonville for breadth, larger renter pool, and stronger long-term appreciation. Avoid coastal markets where insurance kills cap rates. Gainesville →
Remote worker / commute-free
Lifestyle and value over location
→ St. Augustine
Historic district downtown, coastal access, top-rated schools, and a walkable old city. At $525K median you pay less than Ponte Vedra and meaningfully more character. Commute irrelevance opens this market to anyone with a laptop job. Full St. Augustine data →
Maximum house for the dollar
Square footage prioritized over location
→ Lake City or Ocala
Lake City has the lowest $/sqft at $147. Ocala isn't far behind at $165 with newer construction options. Both require commitment to inland living. Lake City is 60+ minutes from Jacksonville, Ocala is 100+ miles south. Lake City → · Ocala →

The data tells us a few things.

Coastal premium is real
Beach-access markets (Ponte Vedra, Palm Coast, Daytona) carry a 30 to 200 percent price premium over comparable inland properties. That premium reflects scarcity, lifestyle, and school-zone overlap, but also buys you significantly higher annual insurance costs that don't show up in the sticker price.
DOM tells the truth
Jacksonville at 43 days and Gainesville at 60 days are the only markets running materially below regional average. Both have structural demand floors (broad employment in Jacksonville, UF + Shands in Gainesville) that buffer against rate sensitivity. Slow DOM signals buyer caution, especially in markets where insurance has been climbing fastest.
Inventory is loosening
Most markets have moved from 2024's sub-2.5 months of supply into the 3 to 5 months range. That's balanced territory. Buyers have negotiating power they didn't have 18 months ago. Sellers who price aspirationally now sit on the market for 90+ days before correcting.
School zones drive everything
The price gap between Ponte Vedra ($1.1M) and Daytona Beach ($315K), two coastal Florida markets 100 miles apart, is almost entirely school zone math. St. Johns County's public school ranking and Ponte Vedra's beach-community feel compound. Daytona's schools rank meaningfully lower, and pricing reflects that.
Inland is the value play
Gainesville ($295K), Ocala ($285K), and Lake City ($285K) sit at nearly identical median prices, but Gainesville's tight 2.0 months of supply means competition. Ocala and Lake City are the easier markets to land a deal on if patience matters more than commute time.
Need help picking a market?

Data narrows the list. An agent closes the deal.

Momentum has agents who close across all 9 of these markets. If you're weighing two or three options, talk to someone who actually transacts in both. Different markets have different submarket dynamics that no comparison table captures.

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