The Complete Murabella Guide. (2026)

Executive Summary

Murabella is an established Tuscan-inspired master-planned community in the World Golf Village area of St. Johns County, at the corner of SR-16 and International Golf Parkway in the 32092 ZIP of St. Augustine. Built out between roughly 2005 and 2014, it holds about 740 single-family homes and trades today primarily as resale, with a steady annual turnover that keeps inventory available.

The community was built by a long list of builders, including Lennar, Standard Pacific, Cornerstone, Toll Brothers, D.R. Horton, Dream Finders, Richmond American, and Southern Lifestyle Homes, on lot widths from 65 to 85 feet, which produced a genuinely diverse mix of home styles and sizes from roughly 1,500 to over 4,400 square feet. Pricing generally runs from the $400s into the $900s, with most homes in the $500s to $600s at around $216 per square foot.

Murabella's amenity package is a major draw: a resort-style pool with a waterslide tower, a lap pool, a zero-entry children's pool, a clubhouse with a terrace, a fitness center, lighted tennis and pickleball courts, a basketball court, sand volleyball, softball and soccer fields, a multi-purpose sports court, covered playgrounds, and miles of sidewalks and trails. Children attend the top-rated St. Johns County schools, generally Mill Creek Academy, Pacetti Bay Middle, and Nease High.

The honest trade-offs are a CDD assessment, the variability of a resale market where condition and updates differ home to home, and a World Golf Village location oriented between Jacksonville and St. Augustine. The most valuable move you can make is to have your own agent rather than calling the listing agent, who works for the seller.

Quick Facts

Community Overview & History

Murabella was one of the master-planned communities that helped build out the World Golf Village area of northern St. Johns County in the mid-2000s, designed with a Tuscan and Mediterranean architectural theme that gives it a distinct, cohesive look. Sitting at the corner of SR-16 and International Golf Parkway, it placed residents minutes from I-95 and roughly midway between Jacksonville and St. Augustine.

The community was developed in phases from about 2005 to 2014 by a long roster of builders, which is why Murabella offers such a diverse housing stock: a buyer can find everything from a modest 1,500-square-foot home to a 4,400-square-foot residence, on lots ranging from 65 to 85 feet, often with lake views. That variety, unusual within a single community, is part of why it has remained popular across budgets.

Now fully built out, Murabella trades primarily as resale, with a stable annual turnover. Its combination of resort amenities, top St. Johns schools, and an affordable-for-the-area price point has kept demand steady, and it remains one of the larger and better-known established communities in the World Golf Village area.

The Builders & Homes

A long list of builders

Murabella was built by many builders over its 2005-to-2014 build-out, including Lennar, Standard Pacific (later CalAtlantic and now part of Lennar), Cornerstone Homes, Toll Brothers, D.R. Horton, Dream Finders, Richmond American, and Southern Lifestyle Homes. That diversity gives the community a varied look and means resale homes differ widely in style, layout, and finish, so knowing which builder built a given home helps a buyer judge construction and value.

Lot widths and home sizes

Homesites range from 65 to 85 feet wide, with homes from roughly 1,500 square feet to over 4,400, many on lots with lake views or backing to green space. The range lets Murabella serve first-time buyers, move-up families, and empty nesters within one community, which is part of its enduring appeal.

A resale market

As a built-out community, Murabella is a resale market, and condition, updates, and lot position drive value. A home with a renovated kitchen, newer roof and HVAC, and a lake-view or premium lot commands a real premium over a dated home on an interior lot nearby, so the house and the lot, not just the community name, are where a buyer wins or overpays.

The Market & Pricing

As of 2026, Murabella homes generally run from the $400s into the $900s, with most in the $500s to $600s and an average around $216 per square foot. The community averages roughly 81 sales a year, about a ten percent annual turnover, so inventory is steady without being overwhelming, and a buyer usually has several homes to choose among across price points.

In a resale market, condition and lot drive price more than the headline number. A updated home with newer systems on a lake-view lot will command a premium over a dated home on an interior lot, even at similar square footage. The schools and amenities are priced into every listing, so the differentiators are the house and the lot, which is exactly where buyers overpay or underbuy without representation, since the listing agent works to get the seller the highest price.

Murabella also competes with the other World Golf Village-area communities, from Bannon Lakes to Markland to the established WGV neighborhoods. A smart buyer shops it against those on price per foot, lot, amenities, and CDD rather than the name alone. An agent who pulls the true comparable sales, not the list prices, is the difference between a confident offer and an overpay.

Who Lives Here

Murabella is family-driven and economically mixed, a result of its wide range of home sizes and prices. You will find young families drawn by the St. Johns schools and the resort pool, move-up buyers in the larger homes, and empty nesters and first-time buyers in the smaller ones, plus relocations from higher-cost states attracted by the value and the amenities.

The community skews active and social, anchored by its deep amenity package, the resort pool with the waterslide is a genuine draw for families, and its established, built-out character gives it a settled, mature feel that newer communities lack. For buyers who want a proven community with grown-in landscaping and a known track record rather than a construction zone, that maturity is part of the appeal.

Schools

Murabella sits in the top-rated St. Johns County School District, consistently among the highest-rated in Florida, which is a primary reason buyers choose this area. Homes here are generally zoned for Mill Creek Academy, Pacetti Bay Middle School, and Allen D. Nease High School, all well-regarded campuses serving the World Golf Village area.

Because St. Johns County periodically adjusts attendance boundaries as it opens new schools, the specific schools assigned to a given Murabella address can change over time. Confirm the current zoning for the exact home directly with the St. Johns County School District before you buy, rather than assuming it from the community name, since school assignment is the first filter for most buyers and the detail most likely to shift.

Amenities & Lifestyle

Murabella's amenities are a standout for an established community. The centerpiece is a resort-style pool with a waterslide tower, joined by a lap pool and a zero-entry children's pool with a mushroom-spray fun zone, all at a clubhouse with an elegant terrace. The clubhouse and pool complex is the social heart of the community.

Beyond the pools, Murabella offers a fitness center, lighted tennis and pickleball courts, a basketball court, sand volleyball, a softball or baseball diamond, a soccer field, a multi-purpose sports court, and covered children's playgrounds, all tied together by miles of sidewalks, walking trails, and open green spaces. That breadth of recreation, fully built and grown in, rivals far newer communities and is a core reason buyers choose Murabella.

These amenities are funded through HOA dues and the community's CDD assessment, covered next. For most buyers the amenity package is a clear positive here, since it is complete, well-maintained, and unusually deep for the price.

HOA & CDD

Two separate costs come with a Murabella home, and confusing them is the most common buyer mistake. The HOA fee covers ongoing operations: the clubhouse, pools, courts and fields, common-area landscaping, and community management. The CDD assessment is different. A Community Development District financed the community's infrastructure, the roads, the amenities, the drainage, and utilities, by issuing bonds that homeowners repay through an annual assessment on the property-tax bill.

Because Murabella was built out years ago, the CDD bond on a given home may be partially paid down, while on others the full assessment remains, so the carrying cost can differ between two otherwise similar homes. Always pull the current HOA dues and the full CDD status, including any remaining bond, for the exact property before you write an offer, and factor it into your comparison with newer communities that may carry heavier or lighter assessments.

Commute Analysis

Murabella's World Golf Village-area location at SR-16 and International Golf Parkway puts I-95 minutes away, making it a practical base roughly midway between Jacksonville and St. Augustine. Downtown Jacksonville and the Southside job centers run roughly 30 to 40 minutes north, historic St. Augustine and its beaches about 20 to 25 minutes southeast, and the St. Johns Town Center a drive north.

The trade-off is the same as for the World Golf Village communities generally: you are not walking to a town center or the beach, but you have strong interstate access and top schools, with everyday shopping close by. For buyers commuting to either Jacksonville or St. Augustine, the central location is a genuine advantage. As always, test-drive your real commute at your real departure time before committing.

Shopping & Dining

Everyday shopping and dining are close, anchored by a Publix-anchored shopping center near the community and the retail along SR-16 and International Golf Parkway, with World Golf Village's dining, golf, and entertainment, including its golf courses, just up the road. Grocery and services are well established across the area.

For more, historic downtown St. Augustine, about 20 to 25 minutes southeast, offers a deep dining, shopping, and cultural scene on the water, and the St. Augustine Premium Outlets and the St. Johns Town Center provide big-box and regional shopping a drive away. The pattern is typical of the World Golf Village area: daily essentials are close, and the marquee destinations are a manageable trip in either direction.

Pros and Cons

Murabella vs. Comparable Communities

The honest way to place Murabella is against the other World Golf Village-area communities a buyer is realistically weighing. Each trades something different.

Murabella's case against this field is value and amenities: a deep, fully built resort amenity package, top schools, and a wide range of homes at a relative value, in an established community. The case against it is that it is resale rather than new construction, carries a CDD, and offers an older housing stock than the newer communities nearby.

Hidden Things Buyers Should Know

First, in a resale community the listing agent works for the seller, not for you. Calling the number on the sign means the same agent represents both sides, which rarely serves the buyer. Your own agent represents only you, at no cost to you in nearly every transaction. Have representation before you tour.

Second, the CDD bond status varies home to home in an older community like Murabella; some may be partly paid down, others not. Pull the specific CDD status for the exact home, not the community average.

Third, knowing which of the many builders built a given home helps you judge construction quality and value, since Murabella's builder mix is unusually broad.

Fourth, an established home means established systems. Roof age, HVAC age, and whether the kitchen and baths have been updated drive both price and your near-term costs, so a thorough inspection matters more here than in a new build under warranty.

Fifth, confirm school zoning for the exact address with the district, since Mill Creek Academy, Pacetti Bay, and Nease serve the area but boundaries shift as the county grows.

Momentum Expert Insight

Murabella is a resale community with a new-community amenity package, which makes it a strong value if you buy the right home. The schools and the pool complex are priced into every listing, so the money is made or lost on the house, the lot, and the CDD status, which can differ home to home in a community this age. The listing agent works for the seller; our job, at no cost to you, is to pull the true comparable sales, read the home's condition honestly, verify the CDD and HOA for that property, and structure an offer that protects you.

Our advice to Murabella buyers is to shop it against Bannon Lakes, Markland, and the rest of the World Golf Village area on price per foot, lot, amenities, and carrying cost, and to weigh the value of an established, grown-in community against the appeal of new construction. Momentum Realty is Northeast Florida's number one independent brokerage, with 270-plus agents, 800-plus verified five-star reviews, and over $3.5 billion in closed sales, and we represent buyers and sellers across St. Johns County every week.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Reading

If you are researching Murabella, you are likely also weighing these other World Golf Village and St. Augustine communities. We have written guides on each.