Notes
What are HOA and CDD fees, and why do they show up in St. Johns County?
HOA fees fund community rules and amenities; a CDD is a special district that often financed roads, ponds, and infrastructure in newer master-planned villages. Both can be real monthly costs on top of the mortgage. Get the numbers in writing for the specific village, not a county average, and treat lifestyle amenities as a bill as well as a perk.
Last reviewed September 21, 2026.
If you are shopping newer St. Johns County housing, you will meet two acronyms that do not appear on a Midwest ranch with a county road and a well. HOA is the one most buyers already know. CDD is the one that rearranges the monthly math.
A homeowners association is a private government of covenants: paint colors, lawns, rentals, and the amenity campus — pools, trails, a town center, sometimes a guard gate. You pay dues for that package, and you agree to rules. Some people want that package. Some people want acreage and fewer letters. Neither preference is a character test. It is a lifestyle and a budget.
A Community Development District is a local special district under Florida law. In practice, in this county, it often means the roads, ponds, and infrastructure of a master-planned village were financed in a way that shows up on your tax bill for a long time. It is not “HOA by another name.” It can run for decades. Two similar houses in neighboring villages can carry very different all-in payments if one has a large CDD and one does not. Local agents talk about no-CDD communities for a reason. We will not publish a roster of dollar amounts that will be wrong by the time you read this. We will say: get the current assessment for the specific village in writing, and ask how it is billed.
Nocatee is the example everyone uses because the amenities are famous and the fee conversation is unavoidable. Other large villages — names you will hear in the same breath, like RiverTown, SilverLeaf, Beachwalk, Shearwater — each have their own mix of HOA, CDD, and amenity story. An older street in northwest St. Johns or a non-gated pocket near St. Augustine may have a lighter HOA or none. Lighter covenants can mean a wider mix of neighbors, boats in driveways, and fewer resort pools. That is a feature for some households.
Read the estoppel, the budget, and any special-assessment history. Ask about rental caps if you might ever need to lease the house. Ask what happens to amenities if the builder is still in control of the board. None of this is exciting. All of it is cheaper than discovering the lazy river is a $400-a-month personality.
We treat amenities as a bill. If you want help comparing two villages you are already looking at, send a note — not for a sales deck, for a checklist.