What's in this guide
- Executive Summary
- Quick Facts
- Community Overview & History
- Neighborhoods & Areas
- Real Estate Market
- Who Lives Here
- Schools
- Amenities & Lifestyle
- HOA, CDD & Costs
- Commute Analysis
- Shopping & Dining
- Pros & Cons
- Neighborhood Comparisons
- Hidden Things to Know
- Momentum Expert Insight
- Live Listings & Recent Sales
- Flood Zones & Insurance
- Internet & Connectivity
- The Tax Reality
- What Your Budget Buys
- The Future of the Area
- Resale Liquidity
- The Buyer Playbook
- Questions to Ask
- Mistakes to Avoid
- Price History Since 2012
- Frequently Asked Questions
Executive Summary
Gentle Woods is a two-phase Westside community in ZIP 32244: the original section built roughly 2004 to 2008 with 3 to 4 bedroom homes of about 1,176 to 1,994 square feet and an active HOA charging around 150 to 200 dollars per year, plus Gentle Woods North, a newer Lennar section that is now sold out per Jome as of June 4, 2026.
Because the Lennar phase just closed out, the listing feed mixes brand-new closings and early resales from the north section with mature resales from the original section, all under one MLS community name, which makes raw price averages here misleading.
Original-section values ran a median sale price of 279,500 dollars and a current estimated value around 312,000 dollars at about 186 dollars per square foot per neighborhoods.com as of June 4, 2026; no CDD is indicated for the community.
Quick Facts
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | Oak Hill area of the Westside, Jacksonville |
| County | Duval County |
| ZIP code | 32244 |
| Homes | Single-family homes, 3 to 4 bedrooms; original section builder varied, north section by Lennar |
| Built | Original section roughly 2004 to 2008; Gentle Woods North by Lennar built recently and sold out per Jome as of June 4, 2026 |
| Home sizes | Original section about 1,176 to 1,994 square feet |
| Amenities | Minimal community amenities; daily needs on the nearby Westside corridors |
| Schools | Duval County Public Schools (confirm zoning by address) |
| Gate / HOA | Original section HOA about 150 to 200 dollars per year with an active HOA site; no CDD indicated; not gated |
Community Overview & History
Two phases, one name
The original Gentle Woods went in during the mid-2000s Westside build-out near Oak Hill: modest single-family homes, a minimal HOA, and no amenity pretensions. Years later Lennar added Gentle Woods North, a new-construction phase that carried the same community name into a different era of product, and per Jome that section sold out as of June 4, 2026. The result is one MLS name covering two distinct vintages, price bands, and warranty situations.
How it feels on the ground today
This is a car-dependent pocket of the Westside: quiet residential streets with errands, schools, and work all reached by the surrounding corridors rather than on foot. The original section is fully mature, with homes approaching or past their twentieth year and the maintenance realities that come with that, while the north section is brand new, with builder-warranty coverage still running and early resales starting to appear as the first wave of owners settles in or moves on.
The Two Sections of Gentle Woods
The section determines almost everything here: age, warranty status, fee details, and the comps you should trust.
The original Gentle Woods section
Built roughly 2004 to 2008, with homes from about 1,176 to 1,994 square feet, 3 to 4 bedrooms, and an active HOA around 150 to 200 dollars per year; this is the established, mature-tree part of the community.
Gentle Woods North by Lennar
The new-construction phase, sold out per Jome as of June 4, 2026; inventory now comes from new closings and early resales, often with remaining builder warranty, which changes the value calculation versus the original section.
The blended listing feed
Because both phases share one MLS name, sort every listing by year built before you compare prices; a 2006 resale and a 2025 Lennar resale are different products at different money.
Real Estate Market
Original-section data ran a median sale price of 279,500 dollars and a current estimated value around 312,000 dollars at about 186 dollars per square foot per neighborhoods.com as of June 4, 2026; treat those as original-section numbers, not community-wide numbers.
The recent sell-out of Gentle Woods North explains the listing volume: new closings recording plus early resales hitting the market at once, which can make the community look more active, and more expensive on average, than the original section actually is.
The buyer pool is entry-level and first-move-up buyers who want Westside pricing, plus investors who like the rent math at this price point; new-phase resales compete partly on remaining warranty rather than upgrades.
Who Lives Here
Gentle Woods draws first-time buyers choosing between a cheaper 2000s resale and a near-new Lennar resale at the same address prefix, Westside commuters who accept the car-dependent location, and investors working the sub-320s price band.
Schools
Gentle Woods is served by Duval County Public Schools, with attendance zones by home address, plus private and charter options nearby. Confirm the exact zoning for a Gentle Woods address before you buy. Zoned schools for this community were not verified by third-party sources at publish time, so run the address through the district locator before you write an offer.
Amenities & Lifestyle
Neither phase carries a big amenity package, which is why the original-section dues sit around 150 to 200 dollars a year; the lifestyle layer is on the surrounding corridors.
Lean common areas
Entry features and common-area maintenance are the core of what the dues fund in the original section.
Westside corridor retail
Groceries, fuel, and daily errands sit on the nearby Blanding, 103rd Street, and Collins Road corridors, all a short drive.
Oakleaf Town Center within reach
The big-box and restaurant hub is a reasonable drive west for the larger retail runs.
Highway access
I-295 access from the surrounding corridors opens the rest of the metro, which matters in a car-dependent pocket like this.
HOA, CDD & Costs
The original section carries HOA dues around 150 to 200 dollars per year with an active HOA website; confirm the current figure, and note the north section may have its own fee schedule, so get the number for the specific phase in writing.
No CDD is indicated for the community, which keeps the all-in carrying cost low; verify on the tax bill for the specific address before contract.
For north-section resales, ask for the remaining Lennar warranty documentation along with the HOA estoppel; transferable warranty coverage is part of what you are paying for there.
Commute Analysis
| Destination | Typical drive |
|---|---|
| I-295 West access | About 5 to 8 minutes via the surrounding corridors |
| Oakleaf Town Center | About 10 minutes |
| NAS Jacksonville | About 15 minutes |
| Orange Park | About 15 minutes |
| Downtown Jacksonville | About 25 minutes |
Gentle Woods sits in the Oak Hill area of the Westside, so everything starts with a short corridor drive to I-295, after which NAS Jacksonville, Orange Park, and downtown are all routine runs.
Shopping & Dining
This is a car-dependent location: daily errands live on the Blanding, 103rd Street, and Collins Road corridors a few minutes away, and Oakleaf Town Center covers the big-box and restaurant runs about ten minutes west.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Low original-section HOA around 150 to 200 dollars per year and no CDD indicated
- Near-new Lennar resales available without a new-construction wait
- Entry-level Westside pricing with a median sale of 279,500 dollars in the original section per neighborhoods.com June 2026
- Active HOA in the original section, a good sign at this fee level
- Quick corridor access to I-295 and Oakleaf retail
Cons
- Car-dependent location with nothing walkable
- One MLS name covers two very different phases, which muddies comps
- Original-section homes are approaching twenty years old with the maintenance cycle that implies
- Minimal community amenities
- North-section sell-out means new-construction pricing leverage is gone
Gentle Woods vs. Comparable Communities
| Community | How it compares to Gentle Woods |
|---|---|
| Westland Oaks | The 2012 to 2013 neighbor in the same ZIP with a similarly lean fee stack, for buyers splitting the vintage difference. |
| Winchester Ridge | A Westside new-construction alternative for buyers who wanted Gentle Woods North and missed the sell-out. |
| Argyle Forest | The big established Westside area nearby, with a much deeper resale pool across more price bands. |
Hidden Things Buyers Should Know
The blended-average trap
New Lennar closings and early north-section resales flow into the same MLS name as 2000s originals, so aggregator averages for Gentle Woods blend two products; filter by year built before you trust any number.
The warranty resale
Early Gentle Woods North resales can carry remaining transferable Lennar warranty coverage, which is real value a 2006 original cannot match; ask for the documentation and price it in.
The active-HOA tell
At 150 to 200 dollars a year, many small HOAs go dormant; this one maintains an active website, which usually signals functioning governance, a quiet positive worth confirming in the estoppel.
Momentum Expert Insight
Gentle Woods is two purchases wearing one name: a sub-300s mature resale with twenty-year-old systems, or a near-new Lennar resale with warranty runway, and the right answer depends entirely on whether your budget headroom is for price or for maintenance.
My advice is to filter every listing by year built first, demand the warranty paperwork on north-section resales, and on original-section homes spend your inspection energy on roof, HVAC, and water heater age, because that is where the real cost difference between the phases hides.
Selling a Home in Gentle Woods
Original-section sellers compete against near-new north-section resales under the same community name, so we price against phase-matched comps and lead with what the new phase cannot offer: mature trees, larger established landscaping, and a proven street.
North-section sellers should market the remaining warranty and the near-new condition explicitly, because buyers scanning a blended Gentle Woods feed will not assume it; we make the phase difference impossible to miss in the listing.
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Flood Zones & Insurance
Jacksonville sees coastal, river, and creek flooding, and pockets near the St. Johns River tributaries can sit in higher-risk zones. Jacksonville participates in the FEMA Community Rating System at a class 6, which earns flood-insurance discounts of about 10 percent for homes outside a special flood hazard area and about 20 percent for homes inside one.
The reliable move is to pull the FEMA flood designation for the exact Gentle Woods 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
The Jacksonville metro is served by Xfinity (Comcast) cable across nearly all addresses and by AT&T with DSL almost everywhere plus fiber to a growing share of homes. If working from home matters, confirm the options, and fiber in particular, at the specific Gentle Woods address rather than assuming.
The Tax Reality
Duval County total millage runs roughly 17.9 to 18.5 mills depending on the taxing district. 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 same budget buys very different homes across Gentle Woods and the surrounding area, depending on age, size, lot, and condition. Rather than anchor on the asking price or the neighborhood average, price any specific home off the most recent comparable sales, and weigh what your money would buy in the nearby alternatives before you commit.The Future of the Area
Duval 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
How quickly a Gentle Woods home resells comes down to presentation, condition, and pricing against the latest comparable sales rather than the neighborhood average. Homes that are priced correctly and shown well tend to move, while overpriced or dated homes sit. We track the active and sold comparable set so a Gentle Woods home is priced to the real market.The Gentle Woods Playbook
If you are buying in Gentle Woods, here is how we would approach it: pull the flood zone and a real insurance quote for the specific address, confirm the HOA dues and whether a CDD applies, compare what your budget would buy nearby, and price the home off the closest comparable sales rather than the asking price. If you are buying any new-construction home, bring your own agent before you register, since the on-site representative works for the builder, not for you.
Questions We Would Ask Before Buying Here
Ask the seller
- What flood zone is this exact address in?
- What are the HOA dues, and is there a CDD or special assessment?
- What did the last few comparable homes actually sell for?
- How old are the roof, HVAC, and water heater?
- What is the true second-year tax estimate after reassessment?
Ask yourself
- Does the commute to work, schools, and daily life actually work?
- Do I need fiber internet, and is it at this address?
- Am I pricing against the right comparable sales, not the average?
- Does the lot and the condition fit my budget and my resale plan?
Mistakes to Avoid
The common ones around Gentle Woods: trusting the seller current tax bill instead of the post-sale reset; skipping the address-specific flood check; assuming fiber is at every home; and pricing off the neighborhood average rather than the closest comparable sales. Each is avoidable with the right diligence, which is exactly where having your own agent pays off.
Price History: What Homes Here Have Actually Sold For
Median sale prices in Gentle Woods Jacksonville year by year since 2012, from closed MLS sales. Long-run history beats any single estimate: it shows what this community has actually done through rate cycles, not what a model guesses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Gentle Woods?
Who built Gentle Woods?
Why are there two kinds of homes under one name?
What do homes cost?
How big are the homes?
What is the HOA?
Is there a CDD?
Is new construction still available?
Do north-section resales come with a warranty?
What amenities are included?
What schools serve Gentle Woods?
Is Gentle Woods gated?
Is the area walkable?
How far is downtown Jacksonville?
Who should I call about Gentle Woods?
Do I need my own agent to buy here?
Related Reading
If you are weighing Gentle Woods against the rest of the Westside market, these guides are a good next step.