Cherry Elm at SilverLeaf Homes for Sale in St. Augustine, FL

Cherry Elm is the townhome side of SilverLeaf, not single-family. The plans are three-bedroom attached homes with two-car garages, running roughly 1,386 to 1,994 square feet, so the footprint is meaningfully larger than a typical entry condo while staying well below the cost of a SilverLeaf single-family house. Published builder pricing across the phases has run from the $320s into the low $420s, with Taylor Morrison listing from about $349,990 at last check. Both figures are dated, so price any specific townhome from current closed comps rather than an old sign price.

There are two builder phases on the same street, and which one a buyer is looking at changes the math. Dream Finders Homes built and sold out a phase of roughly 174 townhomes, so those now trade as resales. Taylor Morrison has been selling a newer townhome phase nearby, which means a buyer can sometimes choose between a builder-fresh unit with selections and an early resale that is already landscaped and lived-in. Confirm current availability before assuming either, because inventory moves quickly here.

The single biggest source of confusion at this address is the name. Cherry Elm is the townhome village; Elm Creek is a separate single-family village elsewhere in the same master plan at higher prices. Search portals mix the two constantly, and a buyer who does not verify can end up comparing a townhome list price to a single-family one. Address-level verification is the fix, and it is exactly the kind of error an unrepresented buyer makes.

For attached product, the value drivers are simpler than for a custom home but they still matter. End units carry more natural light and one fewer shared wall, pond-adjacent units carry a view premium, and a unit with newer mechanicals and updated finishes will out-resell a dated one at the same square footage. Because the structure is shared and the lawn is handled by the association, the buyer's edge is the unit's position, condition, and the honest read of the HOA scope rather than a yard renovation.

The reason buyers accept attached construction here is the entry point. Cherry Elm is one of the lowest published ways into the SilverLeaf brand and the St. Johns County school district, with lawn care folded into the dues. For a first-time buyer, a relocating professional, or someone trading down out of yard work, that combination is the whole pitch, and it is why the village fills as fast as it releases.

Cherry Elm residents plug into the full SilverLeaf amenity network rather than a single pool. SilverLeaf, developed by The Hutson Companies, runs an amenity package that includes resort-style pools, tennis and pickleball courts, dog parks and a bark park, clubhouse and gathering spaces, and the master plan's multi-use trail system. For a townhome owner, that is a far deeper amenity set than the attached price point usually buys, and it is shared across the whole community rather than carried by Cherry Elm alone.

On top of the shared network, the townhome HOA handles lawn care and irrigation on the product itself, which converts Saturday yard work into a line item. That is the practical appeal of attached living here: the amenities of a large master plan, the maintenance of a townhome, and none of the single-family upkeep. Confirm the exact inclusions in writing, because exterior maintenance scope, what the association paints, roofs, and insures, varies between townhome associations and changes the true cost of ownership.

The structural headline is the one most data feeds get wrong: SilverLeaf carries no CDD anywhere in the plan. In a county where nearly every master-planned community adds a Community Development District assessment to the tax bill, SilverLeaf funds its amenities and infrastructure without one, which is real money over a hold. We verify the actual tax bill parcel by parcel during diligence, because verification beats a slogan, but the no-CDD structure is the genuine cost-structure differentiator versus most of the corridor.

Everyday convenience is improving from inside the plan. SilverLeaf's own retail core is growing, with permitted commercial including a fuel-and-convenience anchor and a medical office moving through the county, and the established World Golf Village corridor sits just to the southeast for grocery, dining, and services. Daily errands are short, the WGV corridor is about 12 to 14 minutes, and downtown St. Augustine is roughly 25 to 30 minutes for a completely different dining and culture scene.

For commuting and bigger trips, I-95 at International Golf Parkway is about 13 to 15 minutes away, which opens up Southside Jacksonville to the north and St. Augustine to the south. As SilverLeaf's parkway connections and the County Road 2209 four-lane expansion come online, the daily numbers improve from inside the plan rather than getting worse, which is the opposite of what congestion usually does to a growth corridor.

SilverLeaf is still an active construction zone, and a buyer should price that in honestly. Expect construction traffic on the parkways, new villages rising nearby, and amenities arriving in phases, with the Taylor Morrison townhome phase itself still delivering at last check. Buyers who buy the funded plan rather than the rendering, and who accept a few years of build-out noise, are the ones the growth zone tends to reward.

St. Johns County flooding concentrates near the Intracoastal, the coast, and the creeks and marshes, while many inland master-planned communities sit in lower-risk zones. Cherry Elm is inland new-code construction, which is the friendly end of Florida insurance math, but a pond-adjacent townhome still warrants a parcel-level FEMA flood-zone determination before you write.

The reliable move is to pull the flood designation for the exact unit and get a bindable flood and homeowners quote during your inspection period, so the cost is in your monthly math before you commit, not after. On attached product, also verify exactly where the association's master insurance policy ends and your individual coverage begins, because that line determines what you actually have to insure.

St. Johns County is well served by AT&T (fiber in most newer communities) and Xfinity (Comcast), though fiber availability still varies by street. If working from home matters, confirm the options, and fiber in particular, at the specific Cherry Elm address rather than assuming.

The cost story here is unusual in a good way: no CDD, but a real HOA. Get the current townhome dues and the full inclusion list in writing for the specific unit, since the Dream Finders and Taylor Morrison phases may differ. The Florida homestead exemption for 2026 is 51,411 dollars for those who qualify, and the deadline to file a new homestead exemption is March 1. Plan for the post-sale reset, too: when you buy, the prior owner's Save Our Homes cap ends and the assessed value resets to the new just value, so your second-year tax bill is often higher than the seller's current one.

The honest way to place Cherry Elm is against the other attached and entry options a buyer is realistically weighing inside and near SilverLeaf. Each trades something different.

Against the Newbrook townhomes, both are attached product inside no-CDD SilverLeaf; they differ by builder, plan mix, and position in the plan, so the comparison comes down to current pricing, fees, and which unit sits better, not which name wins. Against Elm Creek, the trade is structural: Elm Creek is single-family in the same master plan at a higher price with a yard to maintain, while Cherry Elm is the lower-cost, lawn-handled attached entry to the same schools and amenities. And against a destination master plan like Beacon Lake up the CR-210 corridor, Beacon Lake offers a lake-and-trail lifestyle and a deeper single-family range but layers on a CDD assessment, where Cherry Elm's pitch is the missing CDD line and the lowest entry to the SilverLeaf brand.

Cherry Elm's case against this field is specific: the lowest published entry to no-CDD SilverLeaf and top St. Johns schools, with lawn care included. The case against it is that it is attached product with shared walls and a still-releasing builder phase next door, so a buyer who needs single-family space, a private yard, or a fully closed-out village will look to Elm Creek or out to the larger master plans and accept the higher cost.

Cherry Elm is the right call for buyers who want into the SilverLeaf brand and the St. Johns County school district at the lowest published entry point, with the yard work handled. If you are a first-time buyer, a relocating professional, or someone trading down out of single-family upkeep, and you will run the short but real diligence list, HOA scope in writing, tax bill pulled, builder-versus-resale comps run, this village delivers exactly what it promises: a no-CDD address with a master-plan amenity network for the price of a townhome.

It is the wrong call for buyers who need single-family space, a private yard, or a fully built-out, quiet village today. The product is attached, with shared walls and a master-plan-level HOA, and a builder phase was still releasing next door at last check, which means some construction noise and direct new-build competition while you own. Buyers who want the broadest single-family lot selection, or who will not verify the Cherry Elm versus Elm Creek distinction before comparing prices, are the ones who end up mismatched here.