Owner-Occupied vs Investor Neighborhoods in Santa Rosa County
Who owns a neighborhood tells you how it will behave: homesteaded blocks turn over slowly and vote for the HOA budget; investor-heavy ones rent, flip and swing with the market. Florida publishes the answer parcel by parcel on the county property appraiser’s roll, and this page rolls it up for every Santa Rosa County community we track — the homestead share (owner-occupancy), the estimated non-owner-occupied share, out-of-state owners and LLC/trust ownership.
Across 174 Santa Rosa County communities and 20,037 residential parcels on the 2025 Florida DOR roll, 66% of homes are homesteaded — the owner-occupancy proxy — and 34% are not; 9% are owned from out of state and 7% are held by an LLC, corporation or trust. Pebble Ridge is the most owner-occupied community in the county at 100%; Blackwater Reserve the most investor-held at 0% homesteaded.
Most owner-occupied communities in Santa Rosa County
| Community | City | Homesteaded | Non-owner-occupied | Parcels | Built (median) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pebble Ridge | Milton | 100% | 0% | 31 | 1994 |
| Chanteclaire | Gulf Breeze | 94% | 6% | 31 | 1993 |
| Treasure Isle Estates | Navarre | 92% | 8% | 62 | 2009 |
| Gardenbrook | Milton | 92% | 8% | 73 | 2005 |
| Kassandra Estates | Gulf Breeze | 91% | 9% | 34 | 2020 |
| Woodlawn Heights | Gulf Breeze | 91% | 9% | 79 | 2005 |
| Holley Cliff Estates | Milton | 90% | 10% | 155 | 2019 |
| Southlake At Stonebrook | Pace | 89% | 11% | 88 | 2013 |
| Champions Green | Gulf Breeze | 88% | 12% | 111 | 1994 |
| Woodbine Hills | Pace | 88% | 12% | 59 | 1986 |
| Grand Pointe East | Gulf Breeze | 88% | 12% | 97 | 2004 |
| Robinson Estates | Pace | 88% | 12% | 89 | 2022 |
| Grand Bay Estates | Navarre | 88% | 12% | 32 | 2011 |
| Magnolia Glen | Milton | 87% | 13% | 76 | 2022 |
| Tanglewood East | Milton | 86% | 14% | 87 | 1994 |
| Foxboro | Pace | 86% | 14% | 36 | 2018 |
| Kingswood Estates | Milton | 86% | 14% | 93 | 1987 |
| Gulf Breeze Park | Gulf Breeze | 85% | 15% | 158 | 1972 |
| Hammersmith | Pace | 85% | 15% | 96 | 2003 |
| Soundview Woods | Gulf Breeze | 85% | 15% | 34 | 1984 |
| Abernathy | Pace | 85% | 15% | 115 | 2016 |
| Grand Pointe | Gulf Breeze | 85% | 15% | 47 | 1996 |
| The Waters | Gulf Breeze | 85% | 15% | 107 | 2018 |
| Windsor Forest | Pace | 85% | 15% | 140 | 1993 |
| Winners Gait | Pace | 85% | 15% | 159 | 2011 |
Most investor-held communities
Lowest homestead share — rentals, second homes and flips concentrate here.
| Community | City | Homesteaded | Non-owner-occupied | LLC / trust | Parcels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackwater Reserve | Milton | 0% | 100% | 56% | 64 |
| Lakes Of Woodbine | Pace | 0% | 100% | 12% | 32 |
| Grove At Berryhill | Milton | 0% | 100% | 63% | 59 |
| Deer Ridge Crossing | Gulf Breeze | 0% | 100% | 96% | 51 |
| Horizons Edge | Milton | 5% | 95% | 2% | 42 |
| Heathers Place | Gulf Breeze | 7% | 93% | 85% | 285 |
| Eagles Ridge | Pace | 9% | 91% | 3% | 66 |
| Marlin Place At Avalon | Milton | 16% | 84% | 50% | 93 |
| Emmaline Gardens | Milton | 17% | 83% | 31% | 58 |
| Navarre Beach | Navarre Beach | 19% | 81% | 22% | 419 |
| Village At Navarre | Navarre Beach | 27% | 73% | 23% | 30 |
| Hidden Pines Estates | Milton | 30% | 70% | 57% | 44 |
| Escambia Bay Estates | Milton | 36% | 64% | 2% | 45 |
| Homeport | Navarre Beach | 36% | 64% | 8% | 74 |
| Rivers Cove | Milton | 36% | 64% | 10% | 222 |
| Roman Oaks | Gulf Breeze | 37% | 63% | 35% | 49 |
| Legend Creek Estates | Pace | 38% | 62% | 19% | 170 |
| Skyline Heights | Milton | 39% | 61% | 19% | 198 |
| Smugglers Cove | Gulf Breeze | 41% | 59% | 5% | 59 |
| Andrew Jackson Estates | Pace | 41% | 59% | 2% | 49 |
| Round Up Valley | Milton | 41% | 59% | 7% | 147 |
| Ventura Manor | Milton | 41% | 59% | 6% | 232 |
| Floridatown Heights | Pace | 42% | 58% | 16% | 31 |
| Yellow River Ranch | Milton | 44% | 56% | 9% | 81 |
| Navarre | Navarre | 48% | 52% | 17% | 130 |
Most out-of-state owners
| Community | City | Out-of-state | Homesteaded | Parcels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakes Of Woodbine | Pace | 84% | 0% | 32 |
| Village At Navarre | Navarre Beach | 60% | 27% | 30 |
| Navarre Beach | Navarre Beach | 60% | 19% | 419 |
| Homeport | Navarre Beach | 45% | 36% | 74 |
| Tiger Lake Gulf Breeze | Milton | 27% | 50% | 74 |
| Smugglers Cove | Gulf Breeze | 25% | 41% | 59 |
| Escambia Bay Estates | Milton | 24% | 36% | 45 |
| Andrew Jackson Estates | Pace | 22% | 41% | 49 |
| Navarre | Navarre | 22% | 48% | 130 |
| Cambria | Milton | 22% | 55% | 143 |
| Arbor Place | Pace | 20% | 57% | 132 |
| Captains Cove | Navarre | 19% | 58% | 31 |
| Round Up Valley | Milton | 16% | 41% | 147 |
| Creetwoods | Navarre | 15% | 79% | 107 |
| Lagniappe Beach | Gulf Breeze | 15% | 62% | 80 |
Highest LLC, corporate or trust ownership
| Community | City | LLC / trust | Homesteaded | Parcels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer Ridge Crossing | Gulf Breeze | 96% | 0% | 51 |
| Heathers Place | Gulf Breeze | 85% | 7% | 285 |
| Grove At Berryhill | Milton | 63% | 0% | 59 |
| Hidden Pines Estates | Milton | 57% | 30% | 44 |
| Blackwater Reserve | Milton | 56% | 0% | 64 |
| Marlin Place At Avalon | Milton | 50% | 16% | 93 |
| Roman Oaks | Gulf Breeze | 35% | 37% | 49 |
| Emmaline Gardens | Milton | 31% | 17% | 58 |
| Village At Navarre | Navarre Beach | 23% | 27% | 30 |
| Navarre Beach | Navarre Beach | 22% | 19% | 419 |
| Skyline Heights | Milton | 19% | 39% | 198 |
| Legend Creek Estates | Pace | 19% | 38% | 170 |
| Navarre | Navarre | 17% | 48% | 130 |
| Floridatown Heights | Pace | 16% | 42% | 31 |
| Woodbine Estates | Pace | 16% | 62% | 122 |
How to read this
Homestead exemption is claimed by owners who live in the home as their primary residence, so the homestead share is a close proxy for owner-occupancy; the non-owner-occupied estimate is its complement adjusted for parcels that cannot claim it. Out-of-state and LLC/trust shares come from the owner mailing address and owner name on the roll. Communities are matched to parcels by subdivision and street; figures are for the parcels matched (n shown), not necessarily every home. Source: Florida Department of Revenue NAL assessment roll, 2025, compiled by Momentum Research, September 2026. Back to homes for sale in Santa Rosa County.