Crescent Key

Executive Summary

Crescent Key is the post-builder version of the St. Johns County starter-to-move-up play: D.R. Horton single-family homes from a 2016-2018 build wave off US-1 South, now fully built out and trading as resale. Neighborhoods.com reported a $387,000 median sale price, closings from $335,000 to $600,000, and roughly $186 per square foot (June 2026), which undercuts most of the newer master-plan corridors at the same footage.

The carrying cost is the quiet headline: the HOA is reported around $75 a month, with some sources quoting roughly $225 to $265 per quarter, and no CDD is reported (drhorton.com and neighborhoods.com, June 2026). The big 32086 and SR-207 corridor master-plans routinely add a CDD bond on top of dues; here the recurring overhead funds a pool, pavilion, and playground and stays under $100 a month. Verify both figures on the specific home before you write.

The trades: this is uniform production stock from a single builder, so the streetscape repeats and the amenity set is modest against the resort campuses; the US-1 South corridor reads workaday rather than glossy; and at seven to ten years old, the original roofs, HVAC, and water heaters are entering the window where replacement belongs in the plan. Location, monthly math, and lake lots are the product.

Quick Facts

Community Overview & History

The 2016-2018 build wave off US-1 South

Crescent Key took shape in the stretch of US-1 South below downtown St. Augustine where D.R. Horton was building before the County Road 210 and SR-207 mega-corridors absorbed the spotlight: a single-entrance community off Crescent Key Drive, delivered between roughly 2016 and 2018, and now fully built out. The stock is classic Horton production from that era, one- and two-story plans from roughly 1,554 to 3,289 square feet and 3 to 5 bedrooms, threaded around more than ten acres of lakes so that many homesites back to water or preserve instead of a neighbor. Verify the build year, plan, and lot backing on any specific home; in a one-builder community, the lot is where the variety lives.

How it lives day to day

Daily life runs the US-1 spine: roughly ten to twelve minutes north to the historic district, the grocery, pharmacy, and big-box errands handled along US-1 within a few minutes of the entrance, and the beaches reached over the SR-312 or SR-206 bridges in about fifteen minutes. I-95 sits about three miles away for the regional run. Inside, the amenity center carries the community life at the scale a roughly $75 monthly fee can sustain: a pool, a covered pavilion for the birthday-party circuit, and a playground, with the lakes doing the scenery work the dues do not have to.

What You Are Actually Buying

One builder, one product type, three honest price buckets. Figures come from neighborhoods.com (June 2026); a built-out community trades a handful of houses at a time, so price off the latest closings, not the averages.

The entry band: mid $300s

Closings have started around $335,000 (neighborhoods.com, June 2026), which buys the smaller end of the stock, roughly 1,554 to 1,900 sq ft, typically one-story 3-bedroom plans. At roughly $186 per square foot reported, this is one of the cheaper ways into a 2016-or-newer St. Johns County single-family house. Interior lots cluster here; the water-backed versions of the same plan carry a premium.

The core: high $300s to mid $400s

The heart of the community sits around the $387,000 reported median (neighborhoods.com, June 2026): roughly 1,900 to 2,600 sq ft, one- and two-story plans, many on lake or preserve lots. This is the band where condition and lot position drive the spread, so comp the specific backing and the original-versus-replaced systems, not just the footage.

The top of the tape: to $600,000

Closings have reached $600,000 (neighborhoods.com, June 2026) for the largest plans, up toward 3,289 sq ft and 5 bedrooms, on premium lake or preserve homesites, often with added pools, screened lanais, and upgrades the builder never offered. At the top of a production community, the upgrades are what you are paying for, so verify the permit history on the additions.

Real Estate Market

Neighborhoods.com reported a $387,000 median sale price, closed prices from $335,000 to $600,000, and roughly $186 per square foot (June 2026). Treat all of it as a snapshot and verify against the latest closings; a built-out community of this size trades a few houses at a time and the tape is lumpy.

Supply is structurally capped: the builder finished around 2018, there is no pipeline, and turnover runs at normal resale pace. A handful of listings at a time is the standard state, and a well-priced lake-lot home in good condition does not linger, because the entry math draws both first-time buyers and investors.

The honest comparison is total monthly against the master-plan corridors: a reported roughly $75 HOA and no CDD reported here versus dues plus a CDD bond that can add hundreds a month in the bigger 32086 and SR-207 communities at the same sticker. Run the all-in payment, not the list price, and Crescent Key prices a tier below what the sticker alone suggests.

Market Position

Crescent Key draws buyers optimizing for monthly math and location: first-time buyers who want a 2016-or-newer house in St. Johns County without a CDD line, move-up households trading older stock for the lake-lot version of a production plan, relocators who want downtown St. Augustine inside fifteen minutes at a sub-$400,000 median, and right-sizers who want low overhead without giving up a single-family yard (verify figures per home).

Schools

A Crescent Key address is served by the St. Johns County School District, with attendance zones set by home address. Zoned campuses for this part of 32086 are short drives rather than walks, so map the actual assigned schools and the morning route from Crescent Key Drive before you buy, and confirm current zoning for the specific address, since attendance boundaries change.

Amenities & Lifestyle

A simple, durable amenity set, scaled to a reported roughly $75 monthly fee: enough to use every week, not enough to need a CDD to fund it.

Community pool and amenity center

The pool anchors the amenity center and the community calendar at neighborhood scale, without the staffing and maintenance load of a resort campus, which is exactly how the dues stay where they are.

Covered pavilion

The covered pavilion next to the pool handles the birthday parties, cookouts, and shade-seeking that Florida summers demand, the kind of low-cost, high-use amenity that earns its line in the budget.

Playground

The playground rounds out the family package beside the amenity center, walkable from most of the community on internal sidewalks rather than a drive across a master-plan.

Lakes and preserve lots

More than ten acres of lakes thread the community, so many homesites back to water or preserve instead of a fence line. The view lots are the closest thing Crescent Key has to a premium product, and they are deeded, not shared.

HOA, CDD & Costs

HOA dues are reported around $75 per month, with some sources quoting roughly $225 to $265 per quarter (drhorton.com and neighborhoods.com, June 2026), covering the pool, pavilion, playground, common grounds, and lake areas. Verify the current figure, the billing cycle, what it covers, and the assessment history with the association before you write an offer.

No CDD is reported for Crescent Key (drhorton.com and neighborhoods.com, June 2026), which is a genuine line-item advantage against the newer St. Johns County master-plans; confirm it on the St. Johns County tax bill for the specific parcel rather than taking any listing remark at face value.

Read the covenants before you plan the lot: production communities run architectural review on fences, sheds, pools, paint colors, and parking, and post-builder associations under owner control enforce what they record. Pull the recorded documents, the budget, and recent board minutes during diligence, the same paperwork discipline as anywhere else.

Commute Analysis

The geography is the everyday win: errands on US-1 in minutes, downtown St. Augustine in ten to twelve, the beach in about fifteen, and I-95 roughly three miles away for the regional run. Jacksonville is a genuine commute at 50 to 60 minutes, so test it at rush hour if that is your week.

Shopping & Dining

The US-1 South corridor carries the weekly load within a few minutes of the entrance: grocery anchors, pharmacies, hardware, and the restaurant strip running north toward town. The SR-312 corridor adds the bigger boxes and Flagler Hospital, and downtown St. Augustine, ten to twelve minutes up the road, supplies everything the chains do not.

Pros and Cons

Crescent Key vs. Comparable Communities

Hidden Things Buyers Should Know

The no-CDD math is the quiet edge

At the same purchase price, a CDD community in the bigger 32086 and SR-207 master-plans can carry hundreds a month more in recurring cost. Crescent Key reportedly carries none (verify on the tax bill), and the HOA is reported around $75 a month, so more of the payment goes to the house you own instead of a bond you are repaying. Over a hold period that gap compounds into real money.

The lake lots are the internal market

In a one-builder community the plans repeat, so the durable premium lives in the lot: homesites backing the 10+ acres of lakes or preserve resell faster and stronger than the same plan on an interior fence line. If two listings are close on price, take the water or preserve backing; that is the part of the purchase the next buyer will pay up for.

2016-2018 systems are hitting the actuarial window

Original water heaters, HVAC units, and in some cases roofs from the build wave are now seven to ten years old. A house with documented replacements is worth real money over an all-original one at the same list price, and insurers increasingly price the difference. Make the systems age the first question, not the last.

Momentum Expert Insight

Selling a Home in Crescent Key

Selling in Crescent Key, lead with the two lines the master-plan corridors cannot print: the reported roughly $75 monthly HOA and the no-CDD tax bill (verify before advertising). Then document the house itself, roof age, HVAC, water heater, and any pool or lanai permits, because buyers comparing repeating floor plans reward the listing that answers the condition question up front.

Price off the most recent closings, not the median: with a built-out community trading thin, the spread between $335,000 and $600,000 closings (neighborhoods.com, June 2026) is mostly plan size, lot backing, and condition. If you hold a lake or preserve lot, photograph and market the backing like the asset it is; that is the differentiator the repeating floor plans cannot supply.

Flood Zones & Insurance

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.

The reliable move is to pull the FEMA flood designation for the exact Crescent Key address before you write an offer, since two homes in the same area can fall in different zones. A home in Zone X can cost far less to insure than one near water in Zone AE. Get a bindable flood and homeowners quote during your inspection period, so the cost is in your monthly math before you commit, not after.

Internet & Connectivity

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 Crescent Key address rather than assuming.

The Tax Reality

St. Johns County total millage varies by district, and CDD assessments are common in the master-planned communities, which adds to the all-in cost on top of the millage. 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.

The trap to plan for is the post-sale reset: when you buy, the Save Our Homes cap from the previous owner ends and the assessed value resets to the new just value, so your second-year tax bill is often higher than the seller current one. Budget the true number, and confirm whether the specific home carries a CDD or other assessment that is billed separately from the millage and is not reduced by the homestead exemption.

What Your Budget Buys Here

The working band: a $387,000 reported median, closings from $335,000 to $600,000, and roughly $186 per square foot (neighborhoods.com, June 2026); research fresher comps before you write, because a built-out community trades thin and the tape moves. The same dollars elsewhere buy a smaller new-construction house with a CDD in the SR-207 corridor master-plans, an older home with golf access in St. Augustine Shores, or a condo closer to downtown. What the money buys here specifically is the 2016-2018 D.R. Horton single-family house, often on a lake or preserve lot, with recurring overhead reported around $75 a month and no CDD reported. Budget for the systems too: original roofs, HVAC, and water heaters from the build wave are entering the replacement window, and insurance quotes will reflect their age. Verify HOA and tax figures per home.

The Future of the Area

St. Johns County continues to grow, with new rooftops, retail, and road work reshaping parts of the area. That growth supports long-run demand, but it can also add competing inventory and construction traffic in the near term, so factor both the upside and the disruption into your timing and your pricing.

Resale Liquidity

Resale here rides the entry math: as the new-construction corridors push stickers and stack CDD bonds on top, a built-out community with a reported roughly $75 HOA, no CDD reported, and a sub-$400,000 reported median keeps re-pricing itself as the value answer for St. Johns County buyers who want 2016-or-newer stock near downtown St. Augustine. The supply is capped at build-out while the county keeps adding exactly the households this product fits. The variables an owner controls are condition and the lot story: keep the roof, HVAC, and permit paperwork organized, maintain the water or preserve view if you have one, and the house underwrites quickly for the next buyer. The monthly math does the marketing; the maintenance file does the closing.

The Crescent Key Playbook

How we would buy here: watch the thin listing flow with alerts rather than waiting to browse, because the right plan on the right lot moves. Underwrite the specific house, not the community: pull the St. Johns County permit history on any owner additions, date the roof, HVAC, and water heater, and price the replacements you will own within five years. Confirm the HOA figure and billing cycle with the association, confirm the absence of a CDD on the actual tax bill, and pull the recorded covenants before you plan the fence or the shed. Walk the lot at rush hour if it sits near the US-1 side, and pay the premium for lake or preserve backing when the choice exists; that is the spread the next buyer will hand back to you. Then comp against the latest two or three closings, not the portal median.

Questions We Would Ask Before Buying Here

Mistakes to Avoid

The expensive mistakes here: comping the whole community off the $387,000 median when the closings span $335,000 to $600,000 and the lot backing and upgrades drive the spread; treating seven-to-ten-year-old original systems as new because the house looks new; taking the HOA and no-CDD figures from a listing remark instead of the association documents and the tax bill; ignoring the US-1 noise question on the lots nearest the highway; and assuming an owner-added pool or lanai was permitted without pulling the file. Every one of them is avoidable with a week of verification, and every one moves real money.

Live Market: Homes for Sale & Recent Sales

Live MLS inventory for Crescent Key St Augustine. Every active listing, what is under contract right now, and the last 12 months of closed sales, refreshed twice a day. Real closed prices beat any estimate.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Crescent Key in St. Augustine?

A single-family community built by D.R. Horton between roughly 2016 and 2018 off US-1 South on Crescent Key Drive in St. Augustine, 32086, in St. Johns County, about three miles from I-95, with an amenity center, pool, covered pavilion, playground, and more than ten acres of lakes.

How much do homes in Crescent Key cost?

Neighborhoods.com reported a $387,000 median sale price, closings from $335,000 to $600,000, and roughly $186 per square foot (June 2026). Verify current pricing against the latest closings; a built-out community trades a few houses at a time and the tape is lumpy.

What are the HOA fees, and is there a CDD?

HOA dues are reported around $75 per month, with some sources quoting roughly $225 to $265 per quarter (drhorton.com and neighborhoods.com, June 2026), and no CDD is reported. Confirm the current dues and billing cycle with the association and the CDD question on the specific St. Johns County tax bill before you buy.

Is Crescent Key gated?

No, the community is not gated. The amenity center, pool, covered pavilion, and playground are for residents, and the single-entrance layout off Crescent Key Drive keeps through-traffic out by design rather than by gate.

How big are the homes and lots?

Homes run roughly 1,554 to 3,289 square feet with 3 to 5 bedrooms in one- and two-story D.R. Horton plans. Lots are conventional production size, with many homesites backing the community lakes or preserve; the water and preserve backings carry a resale premium over interior lots.

When were the homes built, and by whom?

D.R. Horton built the community between roughly 2016 and 2018, and it is now fully built out and resale-only. Verify the build year and any owner additions on the specific home through the St. Johns County permit history, and date the original roof, HVAC, and water heater.

What amenities does Crescent Key have?

An amenity center with a community pool, a covered pavilion, and a playground, plus more than ten acres of lakes threading the community, a simple, durable package, which is how the reported dues stay around $75 a month.

How far is downtown St. Augustine and the beach?

About ten to twelve minutes to the historic district up US-1 and roughly fifteen minutes to St. Augustine Beach or Crescent Beach via the SR-312 or SR-206 bridges. Daily errands sit on the US-1 corridor within a few minutes of the entrance, and I-95 is about three miles away.

What schools serve Crescent Key?

The St. Johns County School District serves the community, with attendance zones set by home address. Map the currently zoned campuses and the morning drive from Crescent Key Drive, and confirm zoning for the specific address before you buy, since boundaries change.

Is Crescent Key a good commute to Jacksonville?

It is a real commute: figure 50 to 60 minutes to downtown Jacksonville, with I-95 about three miles away making the highway leg easy. The community works best for people whose week centers on St. Augustine and St. Johns County rather than the urban core.

How does Crescent Key compare to the new master-planned communities?

It trades the resort amenity campus for monthly math: a reported roughly $75 HOA and no CDD reported, against the bigger 32086 and SR-207 corridor master-plans offering larger amenity packages with dues plus a CDD bond. Run the all-in monthly payment on both before deciding; the sticker alone understates the gap.

Are the lake and preserve lots worth the premium?

Usually, yes. In a one-builder community the floor plans repeat, so the lot backing is the durable differentiator: homes on the 10+ acres of lakes or against preserve resell faster and stronger than the same plan on an interior fence line. Comp the premium against recent water-lot closings rather than paying a listing narrative.

Are there many homes for sale at a time?

No, and that is structural: the builder finished around 2018, there is no pipeline, and turnover runs at normal resale pace, so a handful of listings at any moment is standard. Serious buyers should set alerts and be ready to move when the right plan on the right lot lists.

Will Crescent Key homes hold their value?

The value case is the monthly math: capped supply, a reported roughly $75 HOA, no CDD reported, and a sub-$400,000 reported median (neighborhoods.com, June 2026) in a county that keeps adding buyers. Condition drives the house-level spread, so keep the systems and permit paperwork organized. No outcome is guaranteed; verify against current closings.

Who should I call about Crescent Key?

Call Momentum Realty at (904) 351-6461 or use the form on this page, and we will connect you with the right agent.

Do I need my own agent to buy in Crescent Key?

Yes, it helps. This is post-builder resale inventory, so the value is in the verification: systems and permit history, HOA documents and the CDD question on the tax bill, the lake-lot premium against recent closings, and covenant review. Your own agent handles all of it on your side of the table.

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