Sell Your Land in Brevard County, FL

Selling Land in Brevard County: What to Know

Brevard County is on Florida's Space Coast, between the Indian River Lagoon and the St. Johns River marsh. Many vacant lots here sit in old platted subdivisions such as Port Malabar in Palm Bay, which was laid out decades before most of its lots were built on. Many owners still hold a lot they bought or inherited and never used. If you want to sell yours, you have options.

EasyLotBuyer buys vacant land in Brevard County for cash. We have closed on 5 parcels in Brevard County, and we make offers across the county, mostly in Palm Bay and Malabar, and also in Cocoa, Titusville, Mims and Merritt Island. We make a cash offer within 24 hours, charge no fees or commissions, pay the closing costs, and can close in as few as 7 days. We also buy land with back taxes, liens, title issues or no road access.

What lots sell for in Brevard County

Recent market data shows a median land sale of $44,500 across Brevard County, with 1,268 sales in the past 12 months. The median lot was about 10,454 square feet, close to a quarter acre, which matches the size of the old Palm Bay lots. Lots under 1 acre had a median sale of $48,000. Lots of 1 to 2 acres had a median of $95,000, and lots of 2 to 5 acres had a median of $190,000 across 90 sales.

Supply is the main thing that holds prices down. The same data shows 1,308 lots listed for sale and about 15.9 months of supply. Land took about 88 days to sell on average. The median asking price was $50,000, so many lots sold for less than the asking price.

Location matters a lot. A lot with city water and sewer at the road, a paved street and no wetlands is worth far more than a lot on an unopened plat road or in a flood zone. The ZIP code figures below are county and ZIP medians, not prices for any one subdivision.

• 32908 Palm Bay: median sale $36,500 (408 sales)
• 32909 Palm Bay: median sale $47,000 (368 sales)
• 32907 Palm Bay: median sale $55,000 (123 sales)
• 32950 Malabar: median sale $114,250 (22 sales), larger lots at about $56,700 per acre
• 32926 Cocoa: median sale $42,500 (72 sales)
• 32754 Mims: median sale $51,500 (51 sales)
• 32780 Titusville: median sale $80,000 (41 sales)
• 32953 Merritt Island: median sale $117,500 (9 sales)

Water, sewer and septic

Buyers first ask if city water and sewer reach the lot. In Palm Bay, the city utility serves a large part of the city, but some areas have no water or sewer lines nearby. The city has an interactive service map where you can check an address. On a standard 80 foot lot, the city lists a water connection cost of $4,347.98 and a sewer connection cost of $5,770.40. Fees change, so confirm the amount with Palm Bay Utilities at (321) 952-3420.

Where there is no sewer, a home needs a septic system. In Brevard County, the Florida Department of Health in Brevard County (DOH-Brevard) takes septic permit applications and does the inspections. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is the state authority for the program. The current DOH-Brevard fee for a new system without a site evaluation is $510. You can reach the office at 321-633-2100.

State law sets stricter septic rules in the Indian River Lagoon area, which covers parts of Brevard County. Since January 1, 2024, a new septic system in the Indian River Lagoon Protection Program area is not allowed where central sewer is available. Where sewer is not available, the new system must be a nitrogen-reducing type that removes at least 65 percent of the nitrogen. These systems cost more than a standard tank and drainfield, and buyers factor that into their offers.

Roads, access and building permits

In unincorporated Brevard County, section 62-102 of the county code says the county will not issue a building permit unless the lot abuts a public street that the county has accepted for maintenance. The code has limited exceptions, such as certain private roads built to county standards, and some older lots that have an approved access easement to a public street. A lot on an unopened or unpaved plat road may need a road built, or an agreement with the county, before a home can go up.

Cities and towns have their own rules. In Malabar, an owner who wants access to a lot, or wants to improve the road to it, must file a Road Improvement Application with the town and build the road to the town's standards. In Palm Bay, voters approved a $150 million bond in November 2018 to repave city roads, and the city reports more than 418 miles of road work so far. The bond is repaid through a voted debt tax that appears on Palm Bay property tax bills.

If your lot has no road at all, you can still sell it. We buy land with no road access.

Flood zones, wetlands and protected wildlife

Check the flood zone before you set a price. You can look up any lot on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. In Palm Bay, a new home in a flood zone needs a sealed survey with elevations and an elevation certificate during construction. Palm Bay says about 5,000 residential lots were taken out of the Special Flood Hazard Area on the March 2014 flood maps.

Many Brevard lots have some wetlands. The St. Johns River Water Management District reviews work in or near wetlands through its environmental resource permit program. Brevard County Natural Resources also reviews new single-family homes for wetlands and other natural resources. If your lot has wetlands, the county asks for a survey of the wetland line, and any wetland fill needs mitigation if it is allowed at all.

Some Palm Bay lots lie inside Florida scrub-jay habitat. The city holds a citywide federal permit that lets owners in those areas build. It adds a fee of $125 per quarter acre to the building permit and bans clearing those lots from March 1 through June 30, with a few exceptions. Gopher tortoises are protected across Florida, and moving them needs a permit from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Property taxes, assessments and tax certificates

The Brevard County Tax Collector mails tax bills around November 1. You get a 4 percent discount if you pay in the first 30 days, then 3 percent in December, 2 percent in January and 1 percent in February. Taxes become delinquent on April 1, when a 3 percent charge is added. You can look up and pay your bill on the Tax Collector's property tax page.

Vacant lots can also carry non-ad valorem assessments. These are set amounts, not based on value, and they show below a bold line on the tax notice. Examples in Brevard include county and city stormwater fees and the Melbourne-Tillman Water Control District user fee in parts of Palm Bay and unincorporated south Brevard. That district charges per acre or portion of an acre, whether the land is built on or not.

If taxes stay unpaid, the delinquent list is advertised in May and the Tax Collector holds a tax certificate sale that begins on or before June 1. A tax certificate is a first lien on the land, and bidders compete on the interest rate, up to 18 percent per year. If the certificate is not paid off within two years, the holder can apply for a tax deed, and the Clerk of the Court sells the land online. You can redeem at any time before a tax deed is issued. If your lot has back taxes, we can pay them from the sale at closing.

Where we buy in Brevard County

We buy lots and acreage across the county. Most of the land we look at is in these areas. If your land is somewhere else in Brevard, contact us anyway.

• Port Malabar units in Palm Bay (mostly quarter-acre lots)
• Florida Indian River Land Company tracts around Malabar and Palm Bay (larger tracts, often unbuilt)
• Canaveral Groves near Cocoa
• Indian River Park
• Titusville, Mims and Merritt Island