Paloma

Executive Summary

Paloma is the price story of St. Johns County: townhome-style condos behind the St. Augustine outlets with recent-cycle pricing roughly $139,900 to $259,000, a recent 2/2.5 pending at $199,000, and a 3/2.5 active at $250,000 in early June 2026 (Crescent Beach Realty and RE/MAX listing activity, June 2026). Almost nothing else delivers a St. Johns County address at these numbers, and that single fact drives every other dynamic in the community, from the buyer pool to the rental mix.

This is a rental-heavy community and we say that plainly: portal activity has shown dozens of units listed for rent at a time (Apartments.com listing activity, accessed June 2026). For investors that is the proof of demand; for owner-occupants it means a renter-neighbor reality and, critically, a financing question, because lender condo-project review keys on owner-occupancy ratios. Get the current rental mix and leasing rules in writing before you write an offer.

The deal-deciding diligence is structural, not cosmetic: confirm whether your specific unit is a condominium or a fee-simple townhome, because units here have generally traded as condos even though they live like townhomes. That answer determines the dues load, the master-insurance picture, the post-2021 Florida condo reserve rules, and which loan programs work. Reported dues run about $220 to $243 a month with no CDD reported; verify all of it against the current association budget.

Quick Facts

Community Overview & History

The district at a condo price

Paloma went up in the mid-2000s, roughly 2005 to 2007, on Merlot Way and Syrah Way at Outlet Centre Drive, part of the wave of attached product built off SR-16 when St. Johns County growth started pushing west of the historic city. The design brief was attainability: two story townhome-style buildings, two bedroom plans around 1,100 to 1,300 square feet with two to two and a half baths, a smaller set of three bedroom plans, a community pool, a playground, and a per-door cost the rest of the county could not touch. Two decades later that brief still holds. The community is not fancy and does not pretend to be; it is the working entry point to a county where the median detached house costs multiples of a Paloma unit, and it trades on exactly that.

What the SR-16 and I-95 position actually buys you

Convenience first: the St. Augustine Premium Outlets and the outlet corridor are essentially across the street, the SR-16 strip handles groceries and services, and the I-95 interchange puts Jacksonville, World Golf Village, and the rest of the region on the table for commuters. Historic downtown St. Augustine and Flagler College run about 10 to 15 minutes east, and the beaches about 20 to 25. The trade is the flavor of the position: this is a highway-and-retail pocket, not an oak-canopy neighborhood, with the road noise and traffic rhythm that implies. Buyers who price the location as transportation math rather than postcard scenery tend to be the ones who stay happy here.

What You Are Actually Buying

One community, a tight band of attached plans, and a price ladder that starts lower than almost anything else in the county. Figures below come from brokerage and portal sources with dates attached; the community trades in modest volume and condition varies widely between renovated and original units, so verify against the latest closed sales for your exact plan.

The two-bedroom core: the cheapest St. Johns County door

Roughly 1,100 to 1,300 sq ft with two to two and a half baths, the plan that defines the community and carries most of the trading. Recent cycles have seen these span roughly $139,900 at the distressed-or-original end to around $200K renovated, with a recent 2/2.5 pending at $199,000 (Crescent Beach Realty and RE/MAX listing activity, June 2026). Condition is the spread: original mid-2000s finishes price like a project, updated units price like a product.

The three-bedroom plans: scarcer and larger

A smaller set of three bedroom plans runs larger, with a 3/2.5 of about 1,536 sq ft asking $250,000 in early June 2026 (Crescent Beach Realty, accessed June 2026). These widen the buyer pool to households and roommate setups, and they tend to be the strongest rental performers, which cuts both ways: more income for investors, more competition from investors for owner-occupants.

Condo regime versus townhome living: the line item that decides everything

The units live like townhomes, but most have traded as condominiums, and the difference is not academic. A condo regime means master insurance, post-2021 Florida reserve and inspection rules, and lender condo-project review; a fee-simple townhome means a different dues structure and a simpler loan file. Pull the recorded declaration for your specific unit before you do anything else, because everything downstream, from the monthly to the mortgage, depends on it.

Real Estate Market

The working numbers: recent-cycle pricing has spanned roughly $139,900 to $259,000 depending on plan and condition, with a 2/2.5 pending at $199,000 and a 3/2.5 active at $250,000 in early June 2026 (Crescent Beach Realty and RE/MAX listing activity, June 2026). Price off closed sales for your exact plan and condition tier rather than the community average; the renovated-versus-original spread here is wide enough to make averages misleading.

The buyer pool splits cleanly in two. First-time buyers and downsizers come for the cheapest St. Johns County address on the market and the no-CDD monthly. Investors come for the rental demand the community has already proven, with dozens of units showing on rental portals at a time (Apartments.com listing activity, accessed June 2026). The two pools compete for the same doors, which keeps absorption steady at the right price even when the broader condo market softens.

The honest comparison is all-in monthly against the other attainable attached product in St. Augustine: Sebastian Cove, Conquistador, and the rest of the entry band. Run price plus dues plus insurance plus the reserve-funding trajectory side by side with documents, and weight the financing picture heavily, because a community that clears conventional condo review keeps a wider resale buyer pool than one that has slipped to cash-and-portfolio-loan territory. Ask that question early here.

Market Position

Paloma draws first-time buyers who want a St. Johns County address at the lowest available entry price, commuters who want the I-95 interchange two minutes away, downsizers and single buyers who want lock-and-leave at a small monthly, investors underwriting the proven rental demand, and outlet-corridor and downtown St. Augustine workers cutting the drive to work.

Schools

A Paloma address is served by the St. Johns County School District, the school-reputation engine behind much of the county housing demand, and the district name is a real part of the value story at this price point. Attendance zones are set by home address and can change as the county grows and rezones, and program options vary year to year, so confirm the exact current zoning and ratings for the specific unit directly with the district before you buy rather than relying on listing-page school fields.

Amenities & Lifestyle

A simple amenity package scaled to an attainable community, funded by the dues, and backed up by a location that does most of the heavy lifting.

Community pool

The social anchor and the line-item win: a maintained pool you do not personally own or insure, at a price band where private pools do not exist. Pool condition on your tour is also the fastest read on how well the association maintains everything else it owns.

Playground

A modest play area that matters at this price point, where a range of buyers and renters with kids make up a real share of the community. Like the pool, its upkeep is a visible proxy for association health.

Maintained common grounds

Dues-funded lawn and common-area care keeps the streetscape consistent across an ownership mix of occupants and landlords, which protects the look of the community better than individual-owner maintenance would at this band. Confirm exactly which exterior items the association covers for your unit; the answer varies with the regime question.

The outlet and interchange orbit

St. Augustine Premium Outlets and the outlet corridor sit essentially across Outlet Centre Drive, the SR-16 strip covers groceries and daily errands, and the I-95 ramps are about two minutes out. The location supplies retail, dining, and commuting infrastructure the dues never have to fund.

HOA, CDD & Costs

Reported association dues run around $220 to $243 a month, with no CDD reported, and the dues have typically covered grounds care, the pool and playground, and exterior items such as building maintenance and roofs on the condominium-regime units (portal and brokerage listing data, accessed June 2026). Treat those figures as a starting point only: get the current fee, the budget, the insurance picture, and exactly what the association maintains, in writing, before you offer.

If your unit is under a condominium regime, the post-2021 Florida condo framework applies: structural integrity reserve studies and reserve funding requirements that end the old habit of waiving reserves to keep dues low. Mid-2000s buildings are reaching the age where roofs, paint, and paving come due, so the reserve schedule is the most important document in the deal. An honestly funded association is a safe buy at a fair fee; a deferred one is a special assessment wearing a low fee.

Budget for lender condo-project review as part of your timeline, and ask the hard questions on day one: the current owner-occupancy ratio, recent lender approvals, any litigation, and the leasing rules. A rental-heavy community can fail the owner-occupancy thresholds some loan programs require, which pushes deals toward larger down payments or different products. None of that is a dealbreaker by itself, but discovering it in week three of a contract is.

Commute Analysis

The position is built for movers: I-95 in two minutes, downtown St. Augustine inside fifteen, and the outlet and SR-16 retail handling daily errands without touching the highway. Jacksonville is a real commute at 45 to 55 minutes but a common one from here, and the price-per-door math is exactly why people make it.

Shopping & Dining

The outlet corridor is the headline, with St. Augustine Premium Outlets and the surrounding retail essentially out the front door, and the SR-16 strip filling in groceries, pharmacies, and services within a few minutes. Historic downtown St. Augustine adds the restaurant, cafe, and St. George Street scene about 10 to 15 minutes east, and the US-1 corridor widens the big-box options. For anything beyond that, I-95 puts the St. Johns Town Center run at around 40 minutes north.

Pros and Cons

Paloma vs. Comparable Communities

Hidden Things Buyers Should Know

The regime question is the whole deal

Units here live like townhomes but have generally traded as condominiums, and which one your unit is changes the dues structure, the insurance stack, the applicable Florida statutes, and the financing menu. Pull the recorded declaration and confirm with the association and the title company before you write. Five minutes of document work up front prevents the most common deal-collapse pattern in communities like this.

Rental-heavy cuts both ways, so make it work for you

Dozens of units showing on rental portals at a time (Apartments.com, accessed June 2026) proves tenant demand better than any pro forma, which is why investors keep buying here. If you are an owner-occupant, the same fact means asking for the owner-occupancy ratio in writing and confirming your loan program clears it. Either way, the number is knowable; insist on knowing it.

Condition spread is the negotiation

Two decades in, the community splits between renovated units and original mid-2000s finishes, and the price spread between them is wide relative to the sticker. A unit with original HVAC, water heater, and surfaces is a project priced near a product; inspect with the age in mind, get equipment dates, and price the gap explicitly instead of splitting the difference on feel.

Momentum Expert Insight

Selling a Home in Paloma

Lead with the two facts that move buyers here: the St. Johns County address at the lowest entry band in the county, and your unit condition relative to the original-finish stock. If you have renovated, itemize it with dates, because the renovated-versus-original spread is the pricing story. Then remove the doubt that kills deals in this community: have the association budget, reserve study, insurance certificate, and the regime documents ready at listing, and know whether the project currently clears conventional condo review.

Market to both buyer pools deliberately: owner-occupants buying the school district and the monthly, and investors buying the proven rental demand. Price with sources, citing recent activity such as the $199,000 pending 2/2.5 and the $250,000 active 3/2.5 (Crescent Beach Realty and RE/MAX listing activity, June 2026), and let the I-95, outlet, and downtown St. Augustine position close the lifestyle case.

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 Paloma 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 Paloma 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 has spanned roughly $139,900 to $259,000 across recent cycles, with a 2/2.5 pending at $199,000 and a 3/2.5 active at $250,000 in early June 2026 (Crescent Beach Realty and RE/MAX listing activity, June 2026). The same dollars elsewhere in this market buy an older Duval County condo without the school district, a small slice of a detached fixer well outside the county, or nothing at all in the master-planned communities down the road. The real budget line is the monthly: price, dues reported around $220 to $243, insurance under whichever regime your unit carries, and the reserve-funding trajectory, with no CDD reported helping the math. Run it side by side against Sebastian Cove and Conquistador with current documents; the sticker is the headline, the association budget is the price.

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 on scarcity of the price point: as long as Paloma remains one of the cheapest St. Johns County addresses available, a buyer pool of first-timers and investors sits permanently underneath it, and the proven rental demand gives every exit a second lane through the investor market. The risks to monitor are the financing picture, since a community that slips out of conventional condo eligibility narrows its buyer pool to cash and portfolio loans, and Florida condo carrying costs, which are rising statewide under the post-2021 reserve and insurance regime. Sellers who keep the documents current, prove the monthly math, and present the regime and association picture cleanly will outsell the community average through any cycle.

The Paloma Playbook

How we would buy here: confirm the regime first by pulling the recorded declaration for the specific unit, because condominium versus fee-simple townhome decides the dues, insurance, statutes, and loan menu before any other question matters. Request the association budget, reserve study, insurance certificate, owner-occupancy ratio, and leasing rules before writing, and start lender condo-project review the day the contract signs, since that review is the long pole in a rental-heavy mid-2000s community. Inspect like the age: HVAC and water heater dates, roof status at the association level, water-intrusion history, and the renovated-versus-original condition gap priced explicitly. Confirm school zoning with the St. Johns County School District directly. And price off closed sales for your exact plan and condition tier, not the community average.

Questions We Would Ask Before Buying Here

Mistakes to Avoid

The expensive mistakes at Paloma: assuming the unit is a townhome because it looks like one, and discovering the condo regime in underwriting; treating the sticker as the price and skipping the budget and reserve study on a 20-year-old building; learning the owner-occupancy ratio after the loan program has already been chosen; pricing a unit with original systems off renovated comps; and comparing communities on dues alone without reading what each fee actually funds. Every one of these is a verification problem, every one has sunk deals in entry-band condo communities, and every one is cheap to avoid before contract.

Live Market: Homes for Sale & Recent Sales

Live MLS inventory for Paloma 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 Paloma?

A mid-2000s townhome-style condominium community on Merlot Way and Syrah Way at Outlet Centre Drive, off SR-16 near I-95 in St. Augustine 32084, with two bedroom plans around 1,100 to 1,300 sq ft plus a smaller set of three bedroom plans, a community pool, a playground, and one of the lowest entry prices in St. Johns County.

How much do homes in Paloma cost?

Recent-cycle pricing has spanned roughly $139,900 to $259,000 depending on plan and condition, with a 2/2.5 pending at $199,000 and a 3/2.5 of about 1,536 sq ft asking $250,000 in early June 2026 (Crescent Beach Realty and RE/MAX listing activity, June 2026). The renovated-versus-original spread is wide, so price off closed sales for your exact plan and condition tier.

Are the units condos or townhomes?

They live like townhomes but most have traded as condominiums, and the answer for your specific unit is the single most important diligence item here. Pull the recorded declaration and confirm with the association and the title company, because the regime determines the dues structure, the insurance stack, the applicable Florida condo rules, and which loan programs work.

Is Paloma a rental-heavy community?

Yes, and we say that plainly: rental portals have shown dozens of Paloma units listed at a time (Apartments.com listing activity, accessed June 2026). That proves tenant demand for investors and means owner-occupants should get the current owner-occupancy ratio and leasing rules in writing, since those numbers affect both community feel and conventional condo financing.

What are the HOA fees in Paloma?

Reported dues run around $220 to $243 a month and have typically covered grounds, the pool and playground, and exterior items on the condominium-regime units (portal and brokerage listing data, accessed June 2026). Verify the current fee, the budget, the reserve study, and exactly what the association maintains directly with the association before writing an offer.

Is there a CDD fee in Paloma?

No CDD has been reported here, so the recurring obligations are the association dues, property taxes, and your own insurance. That keeps the all-in monthly simpler and lower than at many newer master-planned alternatives in the county; verify current figures with the association and St. Johns County.

When was Paloma built?

In the mid-2000s, roughly 2005 to 2007. Verify the exact year for your building with St. Johns County records and the association; building age drives the inspection list, the reserve-study review, and the likelihood of original systems in unrenovated units.

What should I know about Florida condo rules before buying here?

If your unit is under a condominium regime, the post-2021 Florida framework applies: structural integrity reserve studies and reserve funding requirements that end the old practice of waiving reserves. Mid-2000s buildings are reaching the age where roofs, paint, and paving come due, so read the budget and reserve schedule closely, and expect your lender to read them too.

Is financing straightforward in Paloma?

It requires planning. A rental-heavy condominium community can run into owner-occupancy thresholds in conventional condo-project review, which can push deals toward larger down payments or different loan products. Ask about recent lender approvals on day one, get the rental mix in writing, and start project review the day the contract signs rather than discovering the issue in underwriting.

Is Paloma a good investment?

The case: one of the cheapest St. Johns County doors with rental demand already proven by heavy portal activity (Apartments.com, accessed June 2026), low reported dues, and no CDD reported. The caveats: rising Florida condo carrying costs, the regime and reserve diligence, and any leasing restrictions in the documents. Underwrite off the association budget and current closed comps, not the headline yield.

What amenities does Paloma have?

A community pool, a playground, and maintained common grounds, deliberately simple and scaled to the price point. The location supplies the rest: the St. Augustine Premium Outlets corridor essentially across the street, SR-16 groceries and services minutes away, and the I-95 interchange about two minutes out.

What schools serve Paloma?

The St. Johns County School District, with zones set by home address. The district reputation is a real part of the value story at this price point, but zones and ratings change as the county grows, so confirm the exact current zoning for the specific unit directly with the district before you buy.

How is the location for commuting?

Strong: I-95 is about two minutes away, historic downtown St. Augustine and Flagler College run 10 to 15 minutes, World Golf Village 10 to 15, the beaches 20 to 25, and downtown Jacksonville 45 to 55 via I-95. The interchange position is the reason commuters and outlet-corridor workers anchor the buyer pool here.

What are the downsides of Paloma?

The honest list: a rental-heavy ownership mix, condo-regime and financing diligence that decides deals, mid-2000s buildings under modern Florida reserve rules, a highway-and-retail setting with road noise rather than neighborhood charm, and wide condition variance between units. Every one is manageable with verification; none should be a surprise at closing.

Who should I call about Paloma?

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 here?

Yes. The wins here are verification: the condo-versus-townhome regime, the association budget and reserve study, the owner-occupancy and rental numbers, the lender project-review picture, and pricing across a wide condition spread. Your own agent works for you on all of it; the listing side does not.

Related Reading

Shopping the attainable end of the St. Augustine market more broadly? Start here.