A CDD, or community development district, is how a lot of newer Florida neighborhoods pay for their own roads, amenity centers, and stormwater systems. The district issues bonds to build the infrastructure, then bills homeowners two ways: a bond, or debt service, portion that retires the construction debt over time, and an operations and maintenance portion that covers the day to day cost of running the amenities and keeping the infrastructure up. The O&M side is the one that moves every year, because the district board sets it based on that year's actual operating budget.
That's what happened for fiscal year 2027 in two of the communities I get asked about most.
What actually changed on your bill
Rivers Edge CDD, the district behind RiverTown, raised O&M assessments 11% on every lot type:
- 30 to 39 foot lots: $1,310.90 to $1,455.10
- 80 foot and larger lots: $2,812.09 to $3,121.42
Do the math and the increase itself isn't dramatic in isolation. The 80 foot lot example works out to $309.33 more for the year, or about $26 a month. The 30 to 39 foot lot increase comes to $144.20 a year, closer to $12 a month. But CDD assessments don't move alone. They sit next to HOA dues, homeowners insurance, and property taxes on the same monthly housing budget, and in a $750,000-plus home, all four of those lines can move independently in the same twelve months. That's the real reason to look at the actual figure rather than assume it's rounding error.
Six Mile Creek CDD, which covers the bulk of SilverLeaf, raised its O&M assessment 6% on platted residential lots and 5% in the Reverie section. One thing worth flagging if you're looking at SilverLeaf specifically: it isn't served by a single CDD. Six Mile Creek CDD and Silverleaf CDD are two different taxing entities with different numbers, so the district that applies depends on exactly which section of the neighborhood a home sits in. Don't assume the figures above apply to every SilverLeaf address; confirm the specific district before you rely on them.
I don't have verified FY2027 figures for Nocatee's own districts (Tolomato or Split Pine) or for Beacon Lake CDD as of this writing. That's not the same as saying those assessments didn't move, it just means I haven't seen a confirmed number I'm willing to publish yet. If you're buying in one of those communities, ask for the current assessment letter directly.
Why this matters more than a line item
CDD assessments show up as their own non-ad valorem line on the St. Johns County property tax bill, separate from whatever the HOA charges. That's easy to miss if you're only budgeting off the HOA dues quoted in a listing.
Buyers are noticing. It's one of the more common frustrations coming up in online conversations among First Coast home shoppers right now: people doing the math and realizing HOA and CDD costs together can add several hundred dollars a month on top of the mortgage payment, and wondering why Florida builds infrastructure this way in the first place. The short answer is that the CDD lets the developer finance roads and amenities with bonds instead of folding that cost into the sale price, and the debt gets paid down by the homeowners who use the infrastructure. Whether that trade works out for a given buyer depends on the total monthly number, not just the sale price on the listing.
A lot of that confusion comes from buyers relocating from states where the developer simply builds the roads and folds the cost into the price of the house. Florida's CDD model spreads that cost over decades instead, which can mean a lower sticker price up front and a real, recurring bill later. Neither approach is better or worse on its own. It's just a different place for the cost to show up, and it's worth understanding before you compare a RiverTown or SilverLeaf listing against a home in a neighborhood with no CDD at all.
Rates make this sharper this year. The 30 year fixed averaged 7.03% APR as of September 20 to 21, per NerdWallet's live rate tracker, up from the roughly 6.71% recorded in early September. That number moves daily, so treat it as a snapshot, not a fixed fact. But a buyer already stretching to qualify at today's rate is going to feel an extra few hundred dollars a year in CDD costs more than they would have a year ago.
For sellers, the market still favors you more than the national headlines suggest. Metro area active listings were down 16.9% year over year as of August, and St. Johns County specifically was down 23.4%. Price cuts are also less common than they were a year ago. That tight inventory gives RiverTown and SilverLeaf sellers some room. It doesn't mean buyers have stopped checking the CDD numbers before they write an offer. If anything, in a market where every showing counts, a buyer who feels blindsided by the assessment during due diligence is a buyer who walks, or comes back with a lower number. If you're pricing against a nearby neighborhood with no CDD, the comparison isn't apples to apples unless you account for that gap, and being ready to explain it, rather than getting caught off guard by the question, keeps a showing moving instead of stalling it.
What to do before you list or write an offer
None of this should scare anyone off a CDD community. RiverTown and SilverLeaf both offer amenity centers, pools, and trail systems that a lot of older neighborhoods without a CDD simply don't have, and the assessment is part of how that gets built and maintained. The point is knowing the number going in, not avoiding CDD communities altogether.
If you're buying:
- Ask for the current CDD assessment letter for the specific address, not just the community name.
- Confirm which district applies if you're looking in SilverLeaf.
- Separate the O&M portion from the bond debt service portion so you know which part can move again next year.
- Build the full number, HOA plus CDD, into your monthly budget the same way you'd budget for taxes and insurance.
If you're selling:
- Have your current assessment figures ready before the first showing instead of waiting for a buyer to ask.
- Be ready to explain the split between O&M and bond debt service, since that's usually what causes confusion during a walkthrough.
- If you're also comparing your net proceeds against a second home or rental property, keep in mind the property tax questions raised by Amendment 3 on the November ballot layer on top of this, and they don't cancel each other out.
Your specific number, what a buyer will actually pay each month, or what you'll net after costs, depends on your home's lot size, its CDD district, and current timing. That's exactly the kind of math I walk clients through before we even talk about listing or making an offer.
If you're weighing a condo instead of a single-family home in one of these communities, the ownership costs work differently again. I covered how the new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac full review rules changed condo financing in a separate post, worth a read if that's on your radar too.
None of this is tax or legal advice. Confirm your exact CDD district and current assessment with the district's management company before you rely on the numbers here.
