Heartwood

Executive Summary

Heartwood is what local brokers quietly call a hidden gem, and for once the framing holds: roughly half-acre wooded lots on Heartwood Drive off the Wildwood Drive corridor, minutes from downtown St. Augustine, in a county where the new-construction corridors put houses on a fraction of the land. The product is the lot and the canopy, not a clubhouse.

The tape is wide and you should read it honestly: listings and sales have spanned roughly $239,900 to $800,000, with recent closings concentrated around $400,000 to $800,000 (BEX Realty, June 2026). That dispersion is the neighborhood telling the truth about itself, older ranches sit beside newer custom builds, so condition, vintage, and renovation scope drive the spread far more than the street does. The broader 32086 zip posted a $365,000 median sale (Redfin, May 2026) for context.

The carrying cost is the quiet edge: the HOA is reported around $46 a month with no CDD reported (BEX Realty, June 2026), against master-plan corridors that stack dues and a CDD bond on smaller lots. The trades are real too: no pool or fitness campus, mixed streetscape vintages, and half an acre of trees to maintain. Land, location, and low overhead are the product.

Quick Facts

Community Overview & History

The half-acre corridor the production wave skipped

Heartwood took shape in the southern St. Augustine pocket off Wildwood Drive, between the US-1 and SR-207 corridors, where the land was platted generously before the county-wide production wave standardized lots at a fraction of the size. The result is an established neighborhood of roughly half-acre wooded homesites on Heartwood Drive where the housing stock spans eras: original ranches from the earlier build-out, renovated versions of the same, and newer custom and semi-custom construction filling in over time. Homes run roughly 1,800 to more than 3,900 square feet, and because no single builder set the template, the streetscape reads varied rather than repeating. Verify the year built, renovation history, and permit file on any specific home; in a mixed-vintage neighborhood, the house-level story is the whole story.

How it lives day to day

Daily life runs the Wildwood Drive corridor out to US-1 and SR-207: groceries, pharmacies, and the big-box run handled within a few minutes, downtown St. Augustine and the historic district roughly ten to fifteen minutes north, the beaches about fifteen to twenty minutes over the SR-312 or SR-206 bridges, and I-95 reachable via SR-207 for the regional drive. Inside the neighborhood, the canopy does the amenity work: the roughly half-acre lots hold mature trees, real setbacks, and the kind of between-the-houses quiet the production corridors cannot manufacture, with a reported roughly $46 monthly HOA keeping the common areas in order rather than funding a resort campus.

What You Are Actually Buying

One neighborhood, several eras of housing, and a tape wide enough that you should price the house, not the street. Figures come from BEX Realty (June 2026) with the 32086 zip context from Redfin (May 2026); research fresher comps before you write, because a small established neighborhood trades thin.

The entry band: roughly $240,000s to high $300s

Listings have started around $239,900 (BEX Realty, June 2026), which buys the older, smaller, or unrenovated end of the stock, original-era ranches where the lot is most of the value and the renovation budget belongs in your underwriting. Below the $365,000 zip median (Redfin, May 2026), assume work: date the roof, HVAC, electrical, and plumbing, and price the scope before you fall for the half-acre.

The core: roughly $400,000 to $600,000

Recent sales have concentrated from roughly $400,000 upward (BEX Realty, June 2026): renovated ranches, well-kept mid-vintage homes, and the smaller newer builds, generally 1,800 to 2,800 square feet on the standard roughly half-acre lot. This is the band where renovation quality and systems age drive the spread, so comp the documented work, not just the footage and the trees.

The top of the tape: to $800,000

Closings have reached roughly $800,000 (BEX Realty, June 2026) for the newer custom and semi-custom builds, up toward and past 3,900 square feet, often with the upgrades and outbuildings half an acre makes possible. At the top of a mixed-vintage neighborhood you are paying for new construction quality on old-plat land; verify the permit history and builder on the specific home.

Real Estate Market

BEX Realty showed Heartwood activity spanning roughly $239,900 to $800,000, with recent sales concentrated around $400,000 to $800,000 (June 2026), against a $365,000 median sale for the broader 32086 zip (Redfin, May 2026). Treat all of it as a snapshot: a small established neighborhood trades a few homes a year, and the mixed vintages make averages nearly useless. Comp the specific house against the most similar recent closings.

Supply is structurally thin: the plat is established, infill opportunities are limited, and owners on half-acre wooded lots near downtown tend to stay. When a renovated home or a newer build lists, it draws the buyers who have been waiting for exactly this product, because the production corridors do not make it anymore.

The honest comparison is land per dollar plus monthly overhead: a roughly half-acre wooded lot with a reported roughly $46 HOA and no CDD reported (BEX Realty, June 2026), against new-construction corridors offering newer systems on a fraction of the land with dues plus a CDD bond. Run the all-in monthly and the lot dimensions side by side; the sticker alone tells you neither.

Market Position

Heartwood draws buyers optimizing for land and location over amenities: households that want a roughly half-acre wooded lot minutes from downtown St. Augustine, renovators who see the entry-band ranches as the cheapest way onto this plat, custom-home buyers who want new construction quality without a production streetscape, and long-haul owners who value low recurring overhead and room between the houses (verify figures per home).

Schools

A Heartwood 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 Heartwood Drive before you buy, and confirm current zoning for the specific address, since attendance boundaries change.

Amenities & Lifestyle

There is no amenity campus, and that is the point: the reported roughly $46 monthly fee maintains the basics while the lots themselves do the amenity work.

Roughly half-acre wooded lots

The headline amenity is the land: roughly half an acre per home under mature canopy, with room for pools, workshops, gardens, and the setbacks that make neighbors optional. This is the product the production corridors stopped building, and it is deeded, not shared.

Mature tree canopy

Decades of growth give the neighborhood shade, privacy, and a settled feel new communities spend years waiting for. Budget for tree maintenance as a real line item, and have any large trees near the house assessed during inspection.

Low-overhead common areas

The reported roughly $46 monthly HOA (BEX Realty, June 2026) covers neighborhood-scale common areas and upkeep rather than staffed facilities, which is exactly how the fee stays where it is. Verify current dues and coverage with the association.

The Wildwood Drive position

The corridor location puts US-1, SR-207, groceries, and the SR-312 medical cluster within minutes while the neighborhood itself stays off the through-traffic map, a single-area entry pattern that keeps the streets internal.

HOA, CDD & Costs

HOA dues are reported around $46 per month (BEX Realty, June 2026), covering common-area upkeep at neighborhood scale. Verify the current figure, the billing cycle, what it covers, and the assessment history with the association before you write an offer; small associations can move dues when a project lands.

No CDD is reported for Heartwood (BEX Realty, June 2026), consistent with an established plat rather than a bond-financed master-plan; 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: even low-fee associations can run architectural review on fences, outbuildings, and additions, and half-acre lots invite exactly those projects. Pull the recorded documents, the budget, and recent board minutes during diligence, and confirm what the rules allow before you price a workshop or a pool into the purchase.

Commute Analysis

The geography is the everyday win: errands on the US-1 and Wildwood corridors in minutes, downtown St. Augustine in ten to fifteen, the beach inside twenty, and I-95 via SR-207 for the regional run. Jacksonville is a genuine commute at 55 to 65 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 neighborhood: grocery anchors, pharmacies, hardware, and the restaurant strip running north toward town. The SR-312 corridor adds the bigger boxes and Flagler Hospital, SR-207 opens the route west to I-95, and downtown St. Augustine, ten to fifteen minutes up the road, supplies everything the chains do not.

Pros and Cons

Heartwood vs. Comparable Communities

Hidden Things Buyers Should Know

The dispersion is the opportunity

A tape that runs roughly $239,900 to $800,000 in one small neighborhood (BEX Realty, June 2026) scares buyers who comp off averages, and that is the edge: the entry-band ranches sit on the same roughly half-acre plat as the $800,000 customs. A renovator who buys the worst house on the street is buying the land at a discount, and in this neighborhood the land is the durable asset.

The lot math against new construction

In the production corridors, a similar budget buys newer systems on a fraction of an acre, plus dues and often a CDD bond. Here the reported overhead is roughly $46 a month with no CDD reported (BEX Realty, June 2026), and the half-acre lot is yours to use: pool, workshop, garden, detached garage, whatever the covenants allow. Price the land per dollar, not just the house per square foot.

Mixed vintages mean house-level underwriting

There is no community-wide build year to lean on: one listing is a renovated ranch, the next is original 1980s systems, the next is five-year-old custom construction. The permit file, the systems dates, and the renovation documentation are worth more here than in any single-builder community, and the houses that have the paperwork organized sell at a visible premium.

Momentum Expert Insight

Selling a Home in Heartwood

Selling in Heartwood, lead with the two things the production corridors cannot match: the roughly half-acre wooded lot and the low overhead, a reported roughly $46 monthly HOA with no CDD reported (verify before advertising). Then document the house against the mixed-vintage tape: roof, HVAC, electrical, and plumbing dates, renovation permits, and tree maintenance records, because buyers staring at a $239,900 to $800,000 spread reward the listing that proves where it belongs on that tape.

Price off the most similar closings, not the neighborhood range: a renovated ranch comps against renovated ranches, a newer custom against newer customs, and the half-acre lot is the constant underneath both. Photograph the canopy and the lot dimensions like the assets they are; that is the product, and it is the part the next buyer cannot get from the new-construction corridors.

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 Heartwood 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 Heartwood 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: listings and sales from roughly $239,900 to $800,000, with recent closings concentrated around $400,000 to $800,000 (BEX Realty, June 2026), against a $365,000 median sale for the broader 32086 zip (Redfin, May 2026); research fresher comps before you write, because a small established neighborhood trades thin and the mixed vintages make averages misleading. The same dollars elsewhere buy a newer production house on a fraction of the land with a CDD in the SR-207 corridor, or more house with golf access in St. Augustine Shores. What the money buys here specifically is roughly half an acre of wooded land minutes from downtown, with recurring overhead reported around $46 a month and no CDD reported. Budget by vintage: entry-band ranches need a renovation and systems reserve, mid-band homes need the documented-work premium checked, and the newer customs need the permit and builder file verified. 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 scarcity: the plat is established, the production corridors do not build half-acre wooded lots anymore, and the county keeps adding buyers who eventually want land and trees instead of a fourth community pool. The reported roughly $46 HOA and no CDD reported keep the holding cost low while the location, minutes from downtown St. Augustine, does the demand work. The variables an owner controls are condition and documentation: in a mixed-vintage neighborhood, the house with dated systems paperwork, renovation permits, and tree maintenance records on file sells at a visible premium over the identical house without them, because it answers the only question the wide tape raises. The land does the marketing; the maintenance file does the closing.

The Heartwood Playbook

How we would buy here: decide your vintage first, project ranch, renovated mid-band, or newer custom, because the diligence differs completely across the three. Watch the thin listing flow with alerts rather than browsing, and underwrite the specific house: pull the St. Johns County permit history, date the roof, HVAC, electrical, and plumbing, and on older stock get the insurance quote early, because systems age moves premiums. Walk the half-acre with an arborist eye, large trees near the roof line are a maintenance and insurance question, and confirm what the covenants allow before you price a workshop, pool, or addition into the plan. Confirm the HOA figure with the association and the absence of a CDD on the actual tax bill. Then comp against the two or three most similar closings by vintage and condition, and ignore the neighborhood average; in a tape this wide it describes nobody.

Questions We Would Ask Before Buying Here

Mistakes to Avoid

The expensive mistakes here: comping a renovated custom against the zip median, or a project ranch against the top of the tape, when the spread runs roughly $239,900 to $800,000 and vintage drives it; treating an older home like a newer one because the lot photographs beautifully; skipping the insurance quote until after contract on original-era roofs, electrical, or plumbing; assuming the half-acre means you can build anything without reading the covenants and the county rules; ignoring the tree assessment on mature canopy near the structure; and confusing this neighborhood with the similarly named Heartwood community in Gainesville when researching online. 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 Heartwood 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 Heartwood in St. Augustine?

A established single-family neighborhood of roughly half-acre wooded lots centered on Heartwood Drive off the Wildwood Drive corridor in southern St. Augustine, 32086, in St. Johns County, with a mix of established homes and newer construction running roughly 1,800 to more than 3,900 square feet, a reported HOA around $46 per month, and no CDD reported.

How much do homes in Heartwood cost?

The tape is wide: listings and sales have spanned roughly $239,900 to $800,000, with recent closings concentrated around $400,000 to $800,000 (BEX Realty, June 2026), against a $365,000 median sale for the broader 32086 zip (Redfin, May 2026). Mixed vintages drive the spread, so comp the specific house against the most similar recent closings, not the average.

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

HOA dues are reported around $46 per month with no CDD reported (BEX Realty, June 2026). Confirm the current dues, billing cycle, and coverage with the association, and verify the CDD question on the specific St. Johns County tax bill before you buy.

Is Heartwood gated?

No, the neighborhood is not gated. The draw is the land rather than a gate or an amenity campus: roughly half-acre wooded lots on internal streets off the Wildwood Drive corridor, which keeps through-traffic out by geography rather than hardware.

How big are the lots and homes?

Lots run roughly half an acre with mature tree canopy, and homes span roughly 1,800 to more than 3,900 square feet across mixed vintages, original-era ranches, renovated versions of the same, and newer custom and semi-custom builds. Verify the lot dimensions and year built on the specific parcel.

When were the homes built?

There is no single build wave: Heartwood is an established plat where older ranches sit beside newer construction, so the year built varies house by house. Pull the St. Johns County property record and permit history for the specific home, and date the roof, HVAC, electrical, and plumbing rather than assuming from the neighbors.

What amenities does Heartwood have?

The lots are the amenity: roughly half an acre of wooded land per home, with the reported roughly $46 monthly fee covering neighborhood-scale common areas rather than a pool or clubhouse. Buyers who want a staffed amenity campus should look at the master-planned corridors instead and weigh the higher overhead that comes with them.

How far is downtown St. Augustine and the beach?

About ten to fifteen minutes to the historic district via US-1, and roughly fifteen to twenty minutes to St. Augustine Beach or Crescent Beach over the SR-312 or SR-206 bridges. Daily errands sit on the US-1 and Wildwood corridors within a few minutes, and I-95 is reachable via SR-207 in about ten to fifteen minutes.

What schools serve Heartwood?

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

Is this the same Heartwood as the one in Gainesville?

No. There is a separately named Heartwood community in Gainesville, in Alachua County, which is a different neighborhood in a different market. This guide covers the established half-acre-lot neighborhood on Heartwood Drive in St. Augustine, 32086, in St. Johns County; verify the address and county when researching listings online so the comps match the right place.

Why is the price range so wide?

Because the houses are genuinely different: original-era ranches, renovated mid-band homes, and newer custom builds share the same roughly half-acre plat, so the tape has run from roughly $239,900 project homes to roughly $800,000 newer construction (BEX Realty, June 2026). Vintage, renovation scope, and systems age drive the spread; the lot underneath is the constant.

How does Heartwood compare to the new master-planned communities?

It trades the amenity campus for land and overhead: roughly half-acre wooded lots with a reported roughly $46 HOA and no CDD reported, against production communities offering pools and playgrounds on a fraction of the land with dues plus, in many cases, a CDD bond. Run the all-in monthly and the lot dimensions side by side before deciding.

Are the older homes a good buy?

They can be the cheapest way onto the plat, because the entry-band ranches sit on the same roughly half-acre land as the newer customs, but underwrite them as projects: date the roof, HVAC, electrical, and plumbing, get the insurance quote early, and price the renovation scope before you offer. The land holds the value; the house determines the work.

Will Heartwood homes hold their value?

The value case is scarcity: an established plat of half-acre wooded lots minutes from downtown, with low reported overhead, in a county that keeps adding buyers and no longer builds this product. Condition and documentation drive 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 Heartwood?

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 Heartwood?

Yes, it helps. This is mixed-vintage resale inventory where the value lives in verification: permit and systems history, renovation documentation, the HOA figure and the CDD question on the tax bill, covenant review before you plan the lot, and comping by vintage in a tape that runs wide. Your own agent handles all of it on your side of the table.

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