In an era where a $200,000 home is classified as "entry level," it's difficult to talk about housing bargains with a straight face. But Jacksonville-one of the most desirable relocation areas in the nation-remains a bastion of affordability, at least relatively speaking. According to the most recent National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index, 56.8 percent of homes sold in the greater Jacksonville area are affordable for families earning the region's median household income. That makes Jacksonville the 68th-most affordable market of 158 surveyed nationwide. But in Florida, where prices have soared, Jacksonville remained by far the most affordable major market, ahead of Tampa, where 42.3 percent of the homes sold were affordable for families earning the median household income. Orlando has dropped to 34.2 percent, and Miami was at 13.7 percent. That's one reason why so many Californians are moving to Northeast Florida. In fact, according to data compiled by the IRS, more people moved to Jacksonville from San Diego County than from any other county in the nation between 2003 and 2004. Other locales from which newcomers are arriving in record numbers include New York, New Jersey and the South Florida counties of Broward and Dade. Just look at the numbers. The median price of a resale home in California was $535,470 in February, while the median price of a resale home in New York was $300,000. And although South Florida's prices haven't quite reached those lofty levels, they still make Jacksonville housing seem like a bargain in comparison. And it's not just the money-it's the lifestyle. First, water. Almost everybody wants to live on or near water. Consequently, waterfront property is one of the few investments that can accurately be described as a no-brainer. After all, as the timeless real estate adage goes, "They ain't making any more of it." But Jacksonville already has plenty. Blessed with beautiful, uncrowded beaches as well as the mighty St. Johns River and the Intracoastal Waterway, you can't drive far in Northeast Florida without running into shimmering bodies of water. Compared to many parts of the country, it's an embarrassment of riches. Second, natural beauty. It's all around. Take a trip north on A1A from Mayport at sunset on a winter day and gaze across the vast golden marshes. While away an afternoon exploring the Black Creek/Ravines Conservation Area. Head over to the Jacksonville Beach Pier and scan the horizon for a pod of Northern right whales, which winter off the coast. Third, livability. The Jacksonville area boasts most of the same cultural and recreational perks found in glitzier (and more expensive) Florida cities such as Palm Beach, Naples and Sarasota. And Jacksonville boasts a distinction those cities don't-it's on a prestigious list of the Top 5 most livable large cities in the country. But with so many new neighborhoods and new homes added to a healthy existing stock of resale homes, where should a newcomer begin the search for a home on the First Coast? Jacksonville Homebuyer can help. Following is a neighborhood-by-neighborhood primer, in which you'll find everything from new master-planned developments to charming historic neighborhoods. Undoubtedly, there's a home just right for you and your family. Clay County at a glance LAND AREA: 601 square miles In 1803, when Zephaniah Kingsley purchased 1,880 acres on the western shore of the St. Johns, the property was lush with laurel trees. The wealthy land baron and slave trader dubbed his plantation Laurel Grove. In 1803, when Zephaniah Kingsley purchased 1,880 acres on the western shore of the St. Johns, the property was lush with laurel trees. The wealthy land baron and slave trader dubbed his plantation Laurel Grove. By the late 1870s the tract had been redeveloped as a resort community and renamed Orange Park for the abundance of citrus groves that surrounded it. During its brief heyday as a tourist destination, such luminaries as Ulysses S. Grant, Buffalo Bill Cody and Sitting Bull stayed in luxurious hotels and enjoyed the scent of orange blossoms wafting through open windows. Today, however, you'd be hard pressed to find any orange groves in this bustling Clay County municipality, a popular suburb dotted with dozens of subdivisions and hundreds of businesses. In fact, growth is sweeping the entire county. The population more than doubled from 1970 to 1980, then grew another 33 percent between 1990 and 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And that pace is expected to continue, in part because there's still undeveloped land here. In fact, Clay remains one of the most sparsely populated urban counties in Florida, with about 262 residents per square mile versus a statewide average of 315.6. And while new Clay County residents are coming from all over the country, a surprising number hails from other parts of Northeast Florida. In fact, between 2003 and 2004, about 6,500 people moved to Clay County from neighboring Duval County. About 4,100 people moved to Duval from Clay. Orange Park's residential development first gathered momentum in the early 1920s when Caleb Johnson, president of the Colgate-Palmolive Company, built Villa Mira Rio, a $500,000 estate on the banks of the river. Other millionaires followed, as did less ostentatious families who were attracted by the community's natural beauty and convenient location. Vestiges of that era remain in Orange Park's small commercial historic district at the east end of Kingsley Avenue, where a few vintage buildings stand around what was once a watering trough and hitching post that served as the community's unofficial gathering spot. A scattering of gracefully aging residential showplaces can be seen along River Road, while Johnson's Mediterranean-style mansion survives as Club Continental, one of Northeast Florida's most popular special-event destinations. The region's past is celebrated each year through Carrie Clarke Day, sponsored by the city and run by the Historical Society of Orange Park and the Orange Park Garden Club's Founders Circle. Clarke and her husband William were Orange Park pioneers, and their circa-1914 home is now a centerpiece of popular Clarke House Park. Otherwise, Orange Park is a thoroughly modern place, where amenity-rich, master-planned communities attract hordes of buyers. Residential development is particularly intense around Fleming Island, along U.S. Highway 17 and Highway 220 in northeast Clay County. Indeed, planners expect the Fleming Island area to experience the highest growth rate in the county-about 24 percent-between 2005 and 2010. But even that torrid pace represents a slowdown from the 40 percent spurt that occurred between 2000 and 2005. The Doctor's Inlet area is also exploding, with 22 percent growth expected over the next five years. And mixed-use developments containing at least 11,000 homes have been approved for 20,000 acres straddling Brannan Field Road, which extends from Blanding Boulevard in Middleburg through the Argyle area to I-10. Clay County's highly rated school system is a major point, as is the presence of Naval Air Station Jacksonville and a plethora of retail and entertainment outlets, including the sprawling Orange Park Mall and the Orange Park Kennel Club, a 5,100-seat greyhound-racing mecca. Other Clay County communities include Green Cove Springs, Keystone Heights, Middleburg and Penney Farms, which department-store magnate J.C. Penney founded in 1926 as a retirement home for ministers and their wives. Despite frantic development, much of Clay County remains rural, with Gold Head Branch State Park, Kingsley Beach, Jennings Forest and Black Creek/Ravines Conservation Area offering camping, hiking, fishing and hunting. WHAT'S NEW IN CLAY COUNTY Villas Continental & Yacht Club, a condominium community located off Scenic River Road near Club Continental, recently celebrated its grand opening. New residents will have an opportunity to buy a breakwater-protected marina slip while other amenities include a shaded pergola for outdoor entertaining, an on-site fitness center and access to Club Continental's pools, tennis courts, dining room and bar. . East West Partners has begun construction on the 8,000-square-foot Eagle Landing Golf Club within OakLeaf Plantation in north Clay County. In addition to the golf course and clubhouse, Eagle Landing's amenities will include a swim park with a cabana bar, an adults only pool, a general store, a full fitness center, a kids' club, a children's treehouse and a tennis center with 12 Har-Tru courts. . Also at OakLeaf Plantation, Centex Homes' new condominium community, Jennings Point, has opened its newly completed on-site sales office. Jennings Point offers six contemporary floorplans ranging in size from 788 to 1,150 square feet. Prices start at $149,990. . Mercedes Homes has introduced two new designs at Cade's Cove, a 36-lot community featuring three- to five-bedroom homes. The new designs include the Pace Cay, with 2,339 square feet, and the Eva Cay, with 1,780 square feet. Homes at Cade's Cove are priced starting in the mid-$200s. . Rosewood Homes is building on 32 lakefront and golf course lots at Magnolia Point Golf & Country Club, located in Green Cove Springs. The company broke ground on a model home in August. Prices in this phase of Magnolia Point will range from the low $400s to the $500s. . Mercedes Homes' Jacksonville Division has announced the opening of a second phase in Spencer Plantation. All 52 homes are priced from the mid-$200s. . Engle Homes is now taking reservations for homes in the third phase of Silver Creek. There will be just 20 homes, all on 70-foot lots and ranging in size from 1,797 to 3,095 square feet. Prices start in the low $200s. Engle is also building a pool, a cabana and a tot lot in the community. . Armco Builders recently opened a model home in its Tuscany Glen townhome community in Orange Park. Three- and four-bedroom homes are available, ranging in size from 1,500 to 1,657 square feet. Prices start in the $180s. Armco is also selling single-family homes in Phase II of The Retreat, located in Middleburg next to the Ravines. There are nine basic floorplans starting at 1,815 square feet and priced from the low $200s. Duval County at a glance LAND AREA: 774 square miles ARLINGTON/INTRACOASTAL WEST Arlington is home to Jacksonville University and some of Northeast Florida's most precious environmental and historical landmarks. It's also a center for commerce, encompassing Regency Square Mall and vast expanses of shopping centers, restaurants and office buildings. Downtown is just a short drive over the Mathews Bridge, and the Beaches are just 20 minutes away via Atlantic Boulevard. Although much of Arlington was developed in the 1950s and '60s, its history goes back much further. French explorer Jean Ribault came ashore here in 1562, preparing the way for a second French expedition to start a colony called La Caroline two years later. The centerpiece of the settlement was an earth-and-wood fort built on the banks of the St. Johns, which was then called the River of May. The Spanish, led by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, later routed the French and captured Fort Caroline. Remains of the fort and the meadow on which it stood were swallowed when the river was dredged. But in 1964 a replica of the triangular structure was built and stands today in the 680-acre Fort Caroline National Memorial. Arlington was also central to Jacksonville's brief heyday as a film capital in the 1920s. At the urging of an organization called Old Arlington Inc., the city bought and is attempting to restore four of five buildings that made up the Norman Film Studios complex on Arlington Road. During the 1920s, producer Richard E. Norman made silent films here starring African-American actors. Homes in Arlington range in price from just under $150,000 to well over $1 million along the water, but the typical price is in the mid-$200s. More and more young families are calling Arlington home, with nearly half the residents between 18 and 25 years of age and another quarter between 35 and 44.
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It is 67° and Fair in Naples/Fort Myers
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