Housing

At Habitat St. Johns, we strive to live in a world where everyone has a stable home of their own.

What We Do

Habitat for Humanity of St. Johns County (Habitat St. Johns) builds quality, affordable homes for local, hardworking families and individuals. People who qualify earn between 30% through 120% of the average median income (AMI).

Here is a chart that shows what those AMI salary ranges are:

Habitat St. Johns sells homes to families and individuals of low- to moderate-income. Many people qualify for a Habitat St. Johns home, but do not realize it. Examples of people who qualify include teachers & school district staff, law enforcement and first responders, government employees, healthcare workers, service industry staff, nonprofit team members, hospitality and restaurant workers, bank employees, mechanics, veterans, retirees, and so many more.

You can see more information about the qualifications here.

Chances are high that you know someone who qualifies. Perhaps you yourself qualify or a family member, friend, neighbor, colleague, or your favorite bartender or waiter?

People qualify, but do not realize they are missing an opportunity to own a well-built, quality single-family home close to downtown St. Augustine.

To learn about qualifications or for other questions about homeownership, volunteering or donating to Habitat St. Johns, visit our website or call us at 904-826-3252.To see the online application, click here.

What We Are Building

Habitat St. Johns is currently selling two-bedroom one-bath and three-bedroom two-bathroom single-family homes at Volusia Woods, located just off Volusia Street near the Four-Mile Road Circle. The two-bedroom one-bath single-family homes are 874 sq ft and are currently appraising for $245,000. The three-bedroom two-bath homes are 1,081 sq ft and are currently appraising for $275,000. Our homes sell for the appraised value. These homes are brand new and under construction now. They include stainless steel refrigerators, stove/ovens, dishwashers and microwaves, granite countertops in the kitchen and bathroom, and a metal roof. These homes also include a 32 sq ft built-in shed and an 80 sq ft front porch. Click here to see if you qualify.

To see the floorplans, click here.

These homes are located a bike ride from Downtown St. Augustine, close to supermarkets, schools, and the Solomon Calhoun Community Center.

Our new and future homeowners are a diverse group of individuals and families who all come together with our staff, volunteers, and partners to help construct each other’s homes as well as their own. This team effort builds camaraderie and sets up a lovely community of friends before our homeowners even move in. It also gives our new homeowner a sense of what it takes to care for and maintain their new home.

How Homeownership Improves Lives

The new and future homeowners are a diverse group of individuals and families who have all come together to help construct each other’s homes, as well as their own with the support of our volunteers and community partners. This simple act of building together helps build community from the start, as the future homeowners will work on their sweat equity hours together. This is a fantastic way to form relationships and build trust with your future neighbors.

Our volunteers on the work-site, especially the regular volunteers, all pitch in and help construct well-built, affordable homes. Our volunteers, through their hard work, keep the home costs down.

In addition, future Habitat St. Johns homeowners learn some new skills and become acquainted with simple maintenance as a new homeowner. Working side-by-side with a volunteer mentor, the prospective homeowners learn about budgeting, finding home insurance, the importance of maintaining their a/c unit, and so much more. The volunteer mentors are an extension of our Habitat St. Johns staff who play a vital role in making sure our new homeowners are well equip and confident.

Homeownership offers the new Habitat St. Johns homeowners stability and security that is unattainable through renting. Time and time again, this newfound stability has helped people grow their careers or even re-career into a better position. In addition, homeowners’ children, being more stable and not being forced to move from home to home and school to school, start to excel in school and become more confident in their surroundings.

Owning a home also offers a future opportunity for building wealth through equity, the sale of the home, or passing the home on to another family member.

Why We Do What We Do

Habitat St. Johns is very aware:

According to St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 report on Workforce Housing in St. Johns County

$195,000 - Annual income needed to afford median home price in St. Johns County of $552,500 (assuming no more than 30% of annual income)
$100,000 - Annual income needed to afford a home at the ordinance-affordable price of $275,000 set by St. Johns County Board of Commissioners.
30-year fixed mortgage is currently hovering at 7%
Homeowner insurance is approximately .912% of home value on average
Private mortgage insurance is an average of 1.22% of the loan amount
Homeowner association fees are an average of $200 (across all of Florida)
Average property tax in St. Johns County is .90% of the home value.

Median rents in St. Johns County

1 bedroom = $1,551
2 bedroom = $2,044
3 bedroom = $2,327
4 bedroom = $3,133

Essential Workers starting salaries in St. Johns County:

Nurses - $65,500
Manufacturing - $64,300
Law Enforcement - $58,000
Teachers $48,500
Hospitality/Food Service - $33,600

As you can see, even two essential workers earning the average starting salaries cannot afford the median home in St. Johns County.

Renting – To afford a rental in St. Johns County, you need the corresponding salary:

One bedroom rental = $62,000
Two bedroom rental = $82,000
Three bedroom rental = $93,000
Four bedroom rental = $125,000

Many renters are forced to have roommates, because they cannot afford to live alone on their salaries.

Housing availability

Of the 3,976 single family and townhomes available as of May 2025, only 125 were priced under $260,000
Of the 3,112 rental units available as of December 2024, only 311 units were priced between $1,000 and $1,500 per month.
Of St. Johns County’s 140,000 households, nearly 23% or 20,000 property owners and 12,000 renter households are considered “cost burdened” meaning they spend more than 30% of their gross income on housing expenses.

St. Johns County Labor Market – Of the approximately 151,000 residential workforce:

70,000 – workers commute back and forth from St. Johns County to other counties to work (largely Duval County/Jacksonville)
45,000 – remote workers – working from home
45,000 - workers commute back and forth from other counties into St. Johns County
36,000 – workers who live and work in St. Johns County

One reason there is so much traffic in St. Johns County is a significant percentage the essential workers must commute from out of St. Johns County every day to get to work.