Punta Gorda new-construction buyer representation from McGreevy and Comisar, Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008: the builders, the city or county line, the first-visit agent rule, deposits and district costs.
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McGreevy and Comisar lead Domain Realty Group, the #1 real estate team in Southwest Florida. Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008. Over $900 million in personal sales and $2.5 Billion sold as a team.
This page is for the buyer who is about to walk into a builder's sales center with a Punta Gorda address on the brochure. The wider city story lives in our Punta Gorda area guide and the county picture in our Charlotte County guide. What follows is the part nobody at the model home volunteers: where the new homes actually are, who the builder's salesperson works for, what the deposit statute does and does not protect, what a Community Development District adds to the tax bill, and why most of this market never shows up on the MLS. By Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar, with every figure read from a primary source on 24 September 2026. Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072 before your first builder visit, or Marc at (239) 287-5873. Updated September 2026.
Each point is sourced further down the page, and each one corrects something a new-construction buyer in Punta Gorda is likely to have been told or to have assumed.
McGreevy and Comisar are the Punta Gorda new-construction buyer's agents who read the builder's broker policy, the district budget and the Florida Statutes before the first model-home visit, because on a new build the costly decisions happen at the sales center door, in the deposit clause and in the district assessment, not at closing. Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar are Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008 and lead the #1 Team in Southwest Florida since 2012.
A builder has a sales team, a contract written by its own lawyers, an affiliated lender and title company, and a warranty book that disclaims every warranty it does not write down. A buyer has none of those. Our job is to be the only person in the room whose duty runs to you: to compare this builder's price per plan against the recorded sales of the last twelve months, to read the district's adopted budget rather than the sales sheet, to negotiate options, incentives and the closing date, and to get independent inspections written into the contract before you sign it.
If you are weighing us against other agents, our side-by-side look at the best real estate agents in Punta Gorda sets out the yardsticks we think a buyer should use: verified production, years in the market, reviews you can read yourself, and whether the agent who walks the model with you is the agent who negotiates the contract. Choose with that page open rather than on our word.
Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar hold the Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008 distinction, the Gulfshore Life Magazine 5 Star Award for Customer Satisfaction for 21 Straight Years, an award only 5 out of more than 21,000 licensees have held, and the #1 Team in Southwest Florida since 2012 position. Between them they have over $900 million in personal sales. Two decades of production in Southwest Florida is how a person knows, without guessing, when a builder's "limited time" incentive is the same one it has run for three quarters.
Jesse and Marc handle their own buyers. The person who registers you at the sales center is the person who reads the contract and negotiates it. Jesse's direct line is (239) 898-6072 and Marc's is (239) 287-5873. The office is at 24031 S Tamiami Trl #101, Bonita Springs, FL 34134, and we meet Punta Gorda buyers at the model home.
McGreevy and Comisar are Southwest Florida real estate experts who have represented buyers and sellers from Naples to Charlotte Harbor for more than two decades, including buyers purchasing directly from national and regional builders. The credentials below are the locked, verifiable record we publish on every page we operate, stated exactly as awarded, with the team figure attributed to Domain Realty Group.
Jesse McGreevy holds Florida license SL3101296 and Marc Comisar holds BK3060671, both issued under Chapter 475, Florida Statutes, and both can be verified on the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation licensee search. McGreevy and Comisar is brokered by Domain Realty.
Punta Gorda new construction is mostly outside the City of Punta Gorda. The Census Bureau counts about 82 new single-family homes permitted inside the city in 2025 against 2,571 across Charlotte County, about 3 percent, so most homes sold as "Punta Gorda" new construction are on Burnt Store Road, along Interstate 75 near Tuckers Grade, and in Babcock Ranch.
Data updated: September 2026 (US Census Bureau Building Permits Survey, county, metro and place annual files for 2022 to 2025 and year-to-date August 2026, retrieved 24 Sep 2026; Charlotte County Property Appraiser parcel roll, retrieved 24 Sep 2026).
Year | Charlotte County (same as the Punta Gorda metro), 1-unit permits | City of Punta Gorda, 1-unit permits | City share |
|---|---|---|---|
2022 | 4,637 | 105 | 2.3% |
2023 | 3,804 | 69 | 1.8% |
2024 | 3,583 | 75 | 2.1% |
2025 | 2,571 | 82 | 3.2% |
2026, January to August | 2,225 (up 18.6% on 1,876 in the same months of 2025) | not yet published | not available |
The Punta Gorda metropolitan area and Charlotte County are the same geography in the Census files, so the county column is also the metro column. Average construction value per county single-family permit was $318,406 in 2025 and $308,525 so far in 2026; that is the cost of the building alone, before land, the builder's margin and the lot premium.
The Census place file shows the City of Punta Gorda reporting only one month of permits in 2024 and eight months in 2025, and the Bureau fills the missing months with estimates. That is why we write "about 80 a year" rather than a precise count. The pattern is not in doubt: every year from 2022 to 2025, the city's share of county single-family permits was between about 2 and 3 percent.
The only reliable test of whether a new home is in the City of Punta Gorda is the tax district on the Charlotte County Property Appraiser's parcel record. We read it for every production community in this guide. Tax districts that carry the city levy returned for Seagrass, Sea Cove and Seahaven. Everything on Burnt Store Road, Coral Lakes, Willow and Esplanade at Starling returned unincorporated county districts, and the Babcock Ranch neighborhoods returned the Babcock Ranch district.
Community | Mailing ZIP | Jurisdiction on the parcel roll | What it changes for a buyer |
|---|---|---|---|
Seagrass (D.R. Horton) | 33950 | City of Punta Gorda | City millage and city impact fees; city flood administration |
Sea Cove (D.R. Horton) | 33950 | City of Punta Gorda | Same as Seagrass |
Seahaven condominium (Taylor Morrison) | 33950 | City of Punta Gorda | City millage; condominium rules apply |
Cali Cove (D.R. Horton) | 33950 | Unincorporated Charlotte County | County millage and the county impact fee column, despite the 33950 ZIP |
Turnleaf, Willow, Esplanade at Starling, Coral Lakes | 33955 | Unincorporated county, each in a district that carries a CDD levy | County services plus a CDD assessment on the tax bill |
Cassia Bay, Heritage Station, Burnt Store Village, Tropical Gulf Acres | 33955 | Unincorporated county | County services; Cassia Bay and Heritage Station state no CDD |
Heritage Landing | 33955 | Unincorporated county, Tern Bay CDD | CDD operations and debt assessments |
Babcock Ranch neighborhoods | 33982 | Babcock Ranch district in Charlotte County | Babcock Ranch Community Independent Special District assessments; the lowest county impact fee column |
A ZIP code is a postal route, not a government. Cali Cove and Seagrass share 33950 and sit on opposite sides of the city line. Builders are not consistent either: D.R. Horton lists Palmetto Landing in Babcock Ranch at 33983 while the county roll shows its parcels in 33982, and Pulte lists Sawgrass Lakes at "Babcock Ranch, Florida 33920". Ask for the parcel's tax district, or send us the lot and we will read it for you.
About 35 percent of recorded home sales in the five Punta Gorda ZIP codes were sold directly by a builder in the twelve months to 9 September 2026, according to our tabulation of the Charlotte County Property Appraiser's qualified sales: 1,494 of 4,259. In 33982, which covers Babcock Ranch, the builder-direct share was 64 percent, and most of those sales never touched the MLS.
MLS check, 25 September 2026: the Southwest Florida MLS recorded 1,077 closed home sales with a Punta Gorda address in the 12 months to 24 September 2026 (median $350,000), 497 of them in Babcock Ranch. 119 of the 1,077 were entered only after closing as "sold data entry" records, the trace a builder or off-market sale leaves when an agent adds it later, and 99 of those 119 were in Babcock Ranch. Set that against the county record above and the gap is the new-construction market the MLS never shows (Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, City field Punta Gorda, closed 0 to 365 days, retrieved 25 September 2026).
Data updated: September 2026 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser parcel roll and recorded sales files dated 24 Sep 2026, qualified sales under Florida Department of Revenue codes 01 and 02, improved, over $1,000, twelve months from September 2025 to the newest recorded sale on 9 Sep 2026; tabulated by McGreevy and Comisar, retrieved 24 Sep 2026).
ZIP code | Qualified recorded sales, 12 months | Builder-direct | Builder-direct share | Builder-direct median | Resale median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
33950 (the city core and north Punta Gorda) | 1,121 | 75 | 6.7% | $289,900 | $390,000 |
33955 (Burnt Store Road corridor) | 776 | 403 | 51.9% | $350,000 | $320,000 |
33980 (Port Charlotte side of the river) | 434 | 49 | 11.3% | $277,500 | $195,000 |
33982 (east Punta Gorda and Babcock Ranch) | 1,392 | 892 | 64.1% | $362,000 | $352,500 |
33983 (Deep Creek area) | 536 | 75 | 14.0% | $349,900 | $310,000 |
All five ZIP codes | 4,259 | 1,494 | 35.1% | $349,900 | $319,000 |
We tracked every sale the county recorded as a qualified arm's-length transfer of an improved property, and counted a sale as builder-direct when it was the first qualified sale of a home within about a year of the year it was built. That is an estimate of the split, not a label the county prints. The method also counts non-housing buildings: ten of the 33950 builder-direct sales were units in an RV and boat storage condominium on Taylor Road. Without them, 33950 is 65 of 1,111 (5.9 percent) and the five-ZIP share is 34.9 percent. Builder-to-builder nominal deeds, quitclaims and corrective deeds are excluded because they are not sales.
A builder selling its own homes has no reason to list them on the MLS, and most do not. An agent who quotes you the "Punta Gorda median" from the MLS alone is describing roughly two thirds of the market in 33950 and 33983, about half in 33955, and about one third in 33982. The medians also move in opposite directions by ZIP: in 33950 resale homes sold for more than builder-direct homes, and in 33955 and 33982 the builder-direct median was higher. The comparison that matters is the recorded sale price of the same plan in the same community, and we pull it for the homes you shortlist.
The biggest builder-direct groups on the county roll in these twelve months were Lennar's Tuckers Cove in Babcock Ranch (224 sales), D.R. Horton's Palmetto Landing in Babcock Ranch (118), Lennar and Toll Brothers at Willow on Tuckers Grade (94), Lennar's condominium and single-family phases at Webbs Reserve in Babcock Ranch (90 and 88), Turnleaf (79), the scattered Burnt Store Village lots (63), Pulte's Verde in Babcock Ranch (61), Toll Brothers' Regency (55), Meritage's Crescent Lakes (53) and Taylor Morrison's Esplanade at Starling (50). A buyer choosing between them is choosing between recorded sales, not asking prices.
A Punta Gorda buyer who already knows that D.R. Horton and Lennar both tie buyer-agent compensation to registration at the first contact is one phone call away from keeping that option. The next step is a short consultation before you visit any model: book your Punta Gorda new construction consultation, see how we represent buyers in Southwest Florida, or call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072. If you own a Florida home you will sell to fund the new one, get a Punta Gorda home valuation first, because a builder's closing date and your sale date have to meet.
Builders selling new homes under a Punta Gorda address on 24 September 2026 include Lennar, D.R. Horton, Pulte Homes, Taylor Morrison, Toll Brothers, Maronda Homes, Dream Finders Homes, M/I Homes, Perry Homes, Century Complete, Meritage Homes, William Ryan Homes and others, across about 34 communities on Burnt Store Road, north Punta Gorda, scattered lots and Babcock Ranch. Builder-published entry prices started in the low $200,000s.
Data updated: September 2026 (each builder's and developer's own community pages, D.R. Horton Southwest Florida inventory sheet effective 25 Aug 2026, Charlotte County Property Appraiser parcel roll and recorded sales, all retrieved 24 Sep 2026). Prices are as published by the builder on that date and change weekly; they show ranges, not a price list.
Community | Builder(s) | Product | Builder-published price, 24 Sep 2026 | District or association | Jurisdiction | Builder-direct sales, 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Turnleaf | Dream Finders Homes, Lennar, M/I Homes, Perry Homes (developer GreenPointe) | Single-family, 1 and 2 story, about 1,263 to 3,800+ sq ft | Developer: "from the $300s to the $700s"; Lennar $251,999 to $499,499 | CDD plus HOA, per the developer | Unincorporated county | 79 |
Willow (recorded as Tuckers Pointe) | Lennar, Toll Brothers | Townhomes, villas, patio, executive and manor homes; Toll single-family | Lennar townhomes from $209,990; Toll from $359,995 | Tuckers Pointe CDD | Unincorporated county | 94 |
Esplanade at Starling | Taylor Morrison | Single-family, gated, 1,483 to 4,591 sq ft | From $313,999 | Starling CDD | Unincorporated county | 50 |
Coral Lakes | D.R. Horton | Single-story single-family, 1,302 to 2,221 sq ft | From $269,999 | Coral Lakes CDD | Unincorporated county | 34 |
Cassia Bay | Pulte Homes | Single-family, gated, 222 homesites | From $295,990 | HOA, "NO CDD" per Pulte | Unincorporated county | 0, new |
Heritage Station | Maronda Homes | Single-family, gated, 1,492 to 2,198 sq ft | "From the $299s" | HOA, "No CDD" per Maronda | Unincorporated county | 20 |
Burnt Store Village (scattered lots) | D.R. Horton, Century Complete, Maronda Homes | Single-family on platted lots | D.R. Horton from $299,990; Century Complete from $324,990 | Property owners association | Unincorporated county | part of 63 |
Tropical Gulf Acres (scattered lots) | Maronda Homes | Single-family | "$279s" | No master amenity association | Unincorporated county | 25 |
Heritage Landing | Lennar | Single-family, coach homes, condominiums | Sales status not confirmed | Tern Bay CDD | Unincorporated county | 24 |
Seagrass | D.R. Horton | Single-family, 1,672 to 3,313 sq ft | From $289,990 | Association; district status not confirmed | City of Punta Gorda | 19 |
Sea Cove | D.R. Horton | Single-family, 1,543 sq ft plan | From $259,990 | Association | City of Punta Gorda | 16 |
Seahaven | Taylor Morrison | Waterfront condominiums with boat docks | From $415,000 | Condominium association | City of Punta Gorda | 10 |
Deep Creek and Harbour Heights (scattered lots) | Maronda Homes | Single-family | "$334s" and "$299s" | Varies by section | Unincorporated county | not separated |
Babcock Ranch (about 17 neighborhoods) | 10 builders on the developer's list | Townhomes to estate homes; two 55-plus neighborhoods | Tuckers Cove $237,999 to $795,905 (Lennar); Waterview Landing from $539,000 (Toll) | Babcock Ranch Community Independent Special District plus associations | Babcock Ranch district | 892 in 33982 |
Turnleaf is GreenPointe's community on Burnt Store Road, and its developer lists four builders: Dream Finders Homes, Lennar, M/I Homes and Perry Homes. The developer states a CDD structure with "CDD assessments typically appear on property tax bills", plus an HOA, and describes the amenities as "currently under construction". Lennar's collection ran $251,999 to $499,499 for 1,263 to 2,919 square feet; Dream Finders from $287,990; M/I Homes from $326,990 on 50-foot homesites; and Perry Homes' 60-foot homes from the $560s. Sources disagree on Turnleaf's total size, so we do not print an acreage.
Willow is Lennar's and Toll Brothers' community at Interstate 75 and Tuckers Grade, and the county records it under the plat name Tuckers Pointe. It is not in Babcock Ranch. Lennar's collections ran from townhomes at $209,990 to manor homes up to $495,999 across 1,343 to 3,392 square feet; Toll Brothers' Azalea collection started at $359,995 and its Pine collection at $499,995. The Tuckers Pointe CDD was established in 2021 over about 507 acres, and its FY2024 audited financial report states that "all voting members of the Board of Supervisors are affiliated with the Developer".
Esplanade at Starling is Taylor Morrison's gated community off Burnt Store Road, with one and two story homes of 1,483 to 4,591 square feet from $313,999 and, on the retrieval date, up to $25,000 off select quick move-in homes. Taylor Morrison describes it as "a gated, natural gas community with low CDD fees", and the Starling CDD was established by Charlotte County ordinance in March 2024. We did not read Starling's budget, so we do not print its assessment.
Coral Lakes is D.R. Horton's single-story community of 370-plus acres on Burnt Store Road, from $269,999, with inventory on its 25 August 2026 sheet running $274,999 to $394,999. The Coral Lakes CDD issued $9,195,000 of Series 2024 bonds due in 2053, and its FY2025 audited report says "all of the Board members are affiliated with CC Burnt Store LLC", the developer. D.R. Horton's affiliated lender offers are covered in the incentives section below.
Cassia Bay is Pulte Homes' gated community of 222 homesites on Burnt Store Road, from $295,990 across one and two story plans of 1,256 to 2,703 square feet. Pulte states "Low HOA, NO CDD" and includes impact glass. On the retrieval date Pulte advertised up to $8,000 in savings on select move-in-ready homes. The parcels were not yet on the county roll under the community's street names, so we state its jurisdiction from its Burnt Store Road location.
Heritage Station is Maronda Homes' gated community on Burnt Store Road, "from the $299s", with 1,492 to 2,198 square foot plans. Maronda states "Low HOA" and "No CDD", and on 24 September 2026 advertised half off options up to $50,000 and zero closing costs on select quick move-ins. Twenty builder-direct sales were recorded there in the twelve months.
Burnt Store Village is not a new subdivision: its 1,450 lots are recorded as Punta Gorda Isles plat lots, governed by a property owners association with deed restrictions, on county-maintained streets with a county street and drainage assessment. D.R. Horton (from $299,990), Century Complete (from $324,990) and Maronda Homes build on individual lots there, and Maronda also builds on scattered lots in Tropical Gulf Acres, Deep Creek and Harbour Heights. A scattered-lot home has no amenity center and no CDD, but the lot's own drainage, flood zone and septic status become your questions.
Heritage Landing Golf and Country Club is Lennar's golf community on Burnt Store Road, and about 63 percent of its roughly 1,560 district units are coach homes and condominiums rather than single-family homes. Lennar's executive-homes page redirected to its corporate homepage on 24 September 2026, which is consistent with a sold-out collection but not proof of one. The district is the Tern Bay CDD, whose operations assessment is the worked example in the district section below.
Seagrass and Sea Cove are D.R. Horton communities on land from Brookfield Kolter Land Partners, 368 homes between them, and both sit inside the City of Punta Gorda. Seagrass started at $289,990 with a pool, a passive park and a kayak launch with canal access; Sea Cove's Carrington plan started at $259,990. The city approved its first CDD, North Loop CDD, for a D.R. Horton development south of Taylor Road; whether these two communities sit inside it is not confirmed, so ask for the parcel's assessments. Seahaven is Taylor Morrison's waterfront condominium with private boat docks, from $415,000, and on the retrieval date Taylor Morrison advertised up to $200,000 off select quick move-in units.
We searched for builder programs under Tern Bay, Sunset Bay, Two Rivers, Tamiami Village, Sonoma, Prosperity Pointe, Solana and Seminole Lakes and found none: Tern Bay is Heritage Landing's district name, Prosperity Pointe is an existing marina condominium community, and Solana and Seminole Lakes are built out. Burnt Store Marina carries a Punta Gorda address and sits in Lee County. Neal Communities builds in Port Charlotte, not Punta Gorda. Punta Gorda Isles and Burnt Store Isles see custom homes on individual lots rather than a builder program.
Babcock Ranch is the largest source of new homes with a Punta Gorda address: its developer, Kitson and Partners, lists 10 builders on its builder page, and the county roll shows 892 builder-direct sales in 33982 in twelve months. RCLCO ranked Babcock Ranch the fourth best-selling master-planned community in the United States for 2025, with 1,066 sales.
Data updated: September 2026 (babcockranch.com builder page, last modified 17 Sep 2026, and neighborhoods page, last modified 10 Sep 2026; RCLCO, published 7 Jan 2026; Gulfshore Business, 13 Aug 2026; builder community pages; all retrieved 24 Sep 2026).
Our Babcock Ranch area guide covers the town itself; this section covers buying new there. Through July 2026 Babcock Ranch recorded 748 sales, up 29 percent on the same months of 2025, with a record 138 in March.
The developer's builder page lists D.R. Horton, Dream Finders Homes, DiVosta, High Point Living, Lennar, Meritage Homes, Park Square Homes, Pulte Homes, Toll Brothers and William Ryan Homes, and its neighborhoods page also names Florida Lifestyle Homes at Lake Timber. Counts elsewhere on the internet range widely; we use the developer's own page, and we recheck it at every refresh because builders are added as neighborhoods open.
Neighborhood | Builder | Builder-published price or status, 24 Sep 2026 | Builder-direct sales, 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|
Tuckers Cove | Lennar | $237,999 to $795,905 | 224 |
Palmetto Landing | D.R. Horton | $274,999 to $470,675 (inventory, 25 Aug 2026) | 118 |
Webbs Reserve | Lennar | not stated | 88 single-family, plus condominium phases |
Verde | Pulte Homes | not stated | 61 |
Regency (55-plus) | Toll Brothers | Lago from $424,995; Sol from $545,995 | 55 |
Crescent Lakes | Meritage Homes | "Mid-$200s" per the developer | 53 |
Northridge | Pulte Homes | From $329,990 | 26 |
The Sanctuary | William Ryan Homes | $324,990 to $414,990 | 27 in its village plat group |
Willowgreen | Lennar | not stated | 21 |
Sabal Glen | Lennar | not stated | 19 |
Waterview Landing | Toll Brothers | From $539,000 | 16 |
Creekside Run | Dream Finders Homes | From $308,990 | 12 |
Sawgrass Lakes | Pulte Homes, Toll Brothers | Coming soon; Toll from the upper $500,000s | 0 |
Lake Timber | Pulte Homes, Florida Lifestyle Homes | "$400s to $1M+" per the developer | not separated |
TerraWalk | DiVosta | not stated | not separated |
Townwalk | Park Square Homes | not stated | not separated |
Alta Key (55-plus) | High Point Living | "Mid-$200s" per the developer | not separated |
We publish a guide to most Babcock Ranch neighborhoods: Tuckers Cove, Palmetto Landing, Webbs Reserve, Verde, Regency, Crescent Lakes, Northridge, The Sanctuary, Willowgreen, Sabal Glen, Waterview Landing, Creekside Run, Sawgrass Lakes, Lake Timber and TerraWalk. Each one carries the neighborhood's own recorded sales and fee stack.
A Babcock Ranch home carries the Babcock Ranch Residential Association master assessment of $1,632 a year, which includes bulk gigabit internet, plus the Babcock Ranch Community Independent Special District's residential operations assessment of $648.88 per unit for FY2026, plus any debt-service assessment on the lot and the neighborhood association. On a MidTown 40-foot single-family lot the FY2026 district total was $2,138.22. A builder plan page once showed that $2,138.22 as "approximate special assessment fees" with no frequency; it is the district assessment, not an HOA fee. Our guides to Babcock Ranch district assessments and Babcock Ranch HOA fees break it down by neighborhood.
If the new home you are weighing is in Babcock Ranch and you already own one there, the resale side of the same market is covered on our pages to sell your home in Babcock Ranch and for a Babcock Ranch home valuation. With builder-direct sales at 64 percent of the ZIP, a resale seller there is competing with the builder's incentives, and pricing has to account for them.
You do not legally need an agent to buy a new home in Punta Gorda, and Lennar's own FAQ says so. But Florida presumes a licensee is a transaction broker unless single agency is put in writing, and a builder selling its own homes is exempt from the licensing chapter altogether, so the person at the sales center owes you no duty to get you the best price or terms.
Section 475.278, Florida Statutes, states: "It shall be presumed that all licensees are operating as transaction brokers unless a single agent or no brokerage relationship is established, in writing". Section 475.011(2) says the licensing chapter does not apply to an entity that "sells, exchanges, or leases its own real property". A builder's in-house sales staff work for the builder. They can be helpful and honest, and their job is still to sell the builder's homes at the builder's price.
D.R. Horton's Southwest Florida inventory sheet, effective 25 August 2026 and expiring 31 December 2026, says the builder "will pay up to 4% of the final purchase price" to the buyer's agent at closing, limited by the agent's written agreement with the client. The conditions: the agent must "accompany and register client on their first visit", or call or email the D.R. Horton sales agent to pre-register the client before the first visit, and the "Client must not have previously registered on the D.R. Horton website or communicated with D.R. Horton's sales agent". Lender limits on total broker compensation also apply.
Lennar's broker policy says: "Buyer must identify and register Broker on buyer's first interaction with a Lennar employee", and "Broker must accompany buyer on buyer's initial visit to the community, whether in person, self-guided, or virtual". The contract must follow within 60 days of registration. Lennar's FAQ answers "No, you do not need a real estate agent to purchase a new Lennar ... home", and adds that "your agent is required to accompany and register with you during your first visit".
A website inquiry form, a chat window or a phone call to the sales office can count as your first interaction. Under D.R. Horton's wording, a buyer who has already registered on its website does not qualify for buyer-agent compensation at all. We have not read the written broker policies of Pulte, Taylor Morrison, Toll Brothers, Maronda, Meritage, M/I Homes, Perry Homes, Dream Finders or Century Complete, so we do not state them here; ask before you click, and we will get the policy in writing for the builder you are considering.
Since 17 August 2024, a buyer working with a Realtor must sign a written agreement with that agent before touring homes, and offers of buyer-agent compensation are no longer shown on the MLS. A builder's own policy, like the two above, is now the place a new-construction buyer learns whether the builder will pay the buyer's agent. Our agreement with you states what we are paid and by whom before the first model visit, so nothing changes at the closing table.
Florida's deposit-escrow statute, section 501.1375, requires a builder to hold a buyer's deposit of up to 10 percent of the purchase price in an escrow account, unless the buyer waives that right in writing. It does not protect the part of any deposit above 10 percent, and a signed waiver removes the escrow requirement entirely.
Section 501.1375 says "any deposit (up to 10 percent of the purchase price) made by the buyer to the building contractor or developer shall, unless waived in writing by the buyer, be deposited in an escrow account" with a bank, savings and loan, trust company, Florida Bar attorney, licensed broker or title insurer. The contract must carry, in capitals: "THE BUYER OF A ONE-FAMILY OR TWO-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DWELLING UNIT HAS THE RIGHT TO HAVE ALL DEPOSIT FUNDS (UP TO 10 PERCENT OF THE PURCHASE PRICE) DEPOSITED IN AN ESCROW ACCOUNT. THIS RIGHT MAY BE WAIVED, IN WRITING, BY THE BUYER."
Find the escrow paragraph and the waiver line before anything else. If the contract asks you to waive escrow, you are being asked to let the builder use your deposit in its business. If the builder asks for more than 10 percent, for example on a build-to-order home with expensive options, the amount above 10 percent is outside this protection, and the contract's own terms for options deposits (refundable or not, and when) are what govern it. We negotiate deposit size, escrow and the options schedule before you sign, not after.
Many builders take a separate, often non-refundable deposit when you select structural options or design-center upgrades. Maronda's advertised "half off options up to $50,000" on 24 September 2026 is a reminder that the options sheet is where a large part of the price lives. Ask for the options deposit schedule in writing and whether any of it is credited back if the builder cannot deliver on the stated timeline.
A Punta Gorda new home can carry three costs a resale buyer rarely meets: a Community Development District assessment on the tax bill, a developer-run homeowners association budget, and impact fees already built into the price. Charlotte County's impact fees alone run $7,804 in the unincorporated county, $3,396 in the city plus city fees, and $1,515 in Babcock Ranch.
Data updated: September 2026 (Charlotte County impact fee master schedule effective 12 Oct 2022; Tern Bay CDD FY2027 adopted budget of 22 Jul 2026; Florida Auditor General district financial reports for Tuckers Pointe CDD, FY2024, and Coral Lakes CDD, FY2025; all retrieved 24 Sep 2026).
A Community Development District is a special-purpose local government that borrows to build roads, drainage and utilities and levies assessments to repay the bonds and run the district. Section 190.048, Florida Statutes, requires the contract to carry, in bold type larger than the rest, immediately before your signature: "THE [Name] COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT MAY IMPOSE AND LEVY TAXES OR ASSESSMENTS, OR BOTH ... ON THIS PROPERTY." The assessment appears on the county tax bill, not the HOA statement, which is why buyers miss it when they compare "HOA fees".
In the early years the developer's people sit on the board. The FY2024 audited financial report of the Tuckers Pointe CDD (Willow) says "all voting members of the Board of Supervisors are affiliated with the Developer", and the developer contributed $4,650,255 that year. The FY2025 report of the Coral Lakes CDD says "all of the Board members are affiliated with CC Burnt Store LLC", and the developer funded $201,603 of operations. A developer-funded budget is a low budget, and it rises when the funding stops.
The Tern Bay CDD's operations and maintenance assessment per unit, the same for every product type, was $377.44 in FY2025, $800.00 in FY2026, and $1,356.09 in the FY2027 budget adopted on 22 July 2026. That is 3.6 times in two years. Debt service is separate and depends on the product: for FY2026 it ran from $995.68 a year on a terrace condominium to $1,849.13 on an estate home. Read the district's adopted budget for the year you will close in, not the figure on the sales sheet.
District | Community | Established | What the filings say |
|---|---|---|---|
Tern Bay CDD | Heritage Landing | 2004 | Operations assessment $377.44, $800.00, $1,356.09 (FY2025, FY2026, FY2027 adopted); bonds to 2052 |
Tuckers Pointe CDD | Willow | 2021 | $9,235,000 in bonds to 2052 plus a $13,500,000 note to 2032; board all developer-affiliated (FY2024) |
Coral Lakes CDD | Coral Lakes | 2022 | $9,195,000 in Series 2024 bonds to 2053; board all developer-affiliated (FY2025) |
Starling CDD | Esplanade at Starling | 2024 | Budget not read; ask for the adopted budget |
Turnleaf | Turnleaf | per the developer | District name and figures not confirmed |
Babcock Ranch Community Independent Special District | Babcock Ranch | 2007 | Residential operations $648.88 per unit in FY2026, plus debt service by lot |
none | Cassia Bay, Heritage Station | n/a | "NO CDD" and "No CDD", in the builders' own words |
Section 720.307, Florida Statutes, gives members the right to elect a majority of the HOA board three months after 90 percent of the parcels in all phases have been conveyed to owners other than the developer, or earlier if the governing documents say so, and at least one director once 50 percent are conveyed. Until then the developer sets the association budget. Section 720.401 requires the HOA disclosure summary before you sign; if you get it later, you may void the contract within 3 days of receiving it or before closing, whichever comes first, and that right cannot be waived.
Charlotte County single-family detached, per home | Unincorporated county | City of Punta Gorda (county portion) | Babcock Ranch (county portion) |
|---|---|---|---|
Total county impact fees | $7,804 | $3,396 | $1,515 |
Transportation component | $6,289 | not in the city column total | "County transportation fees are not assessed within Babcock Ranch" |
The schedule's footnotes say county fees in the city are collected by the city and "Additional fees assessed by the City of Punta Gorda will apply", and in Babcock Ranch "Additional fees assessed by Babcock Ranch may apply". Every figure includes a 2.55 percent administrative fee, and the county assesses them before final inspection.
The City of Punta Gorda's own impact fees and water capacity fees are not published in readable text: the city posts them only as images, so we do not print a city total. Charlotte County Utilities capacity and connection fees were not read for this page either. On a production home the builder pays these and prices them in. On a build-on-your-lot contract they should appear as line items; ask for them in writing, and check that the city or county column matches the parcel's jurisdiction.
Section 689.261, Florida Statutes, requires the warning "BUYER SHOULD NOT RELY ON THE SELLER'S CURRENT PROPERTY TAXES ... A CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP OR PROPERTY IMPROVEMENTS TRIGGERS REASSESSMENTS". On a new home the last bill often reflects vacant land or a partly built house. Budget from the full assessed value of the finished home, the millage for its tax district, the CDD or district assessment and any association dues, and apply for homestead by 1 March after you move in if it will be your primary residence.
Builder incentives in Punta Gorda on 24 September 2026 ran from about $8,000 to $200,000 of advertised savings, plus below-market mortgage rates through builder-affiliated lenders. They can be worth a great deal, but each one is tied to a specific home, date or lender, and federal law says you cannot be required to use the builder's lender.
Data updated: September 2026 (builder community pages and D.R. Horton inventory sheet, retrieved 24 Sep 2026; Lennar third-quarter 2026 results, 16 Sep 2026; PulteGroup second-quarter 2026 results, 22 Jul 2026; D.R. Horton fiscal third-quarter 2026 results, 21 Jul 2026).
Builder, community | Advertised incentive, 24 Sep 2026 | The condition |
|---|---|---|
Taylor Morrison, Seahaven | "Save up to $200,000" | Select quick move-in condominiums |
Pulte Homes, Northridge in Babcock Ranch | "Save up to $123,000 Now thru Sept 28th" | Select move-in-ready homes, dated |
Maronda Homes, Heritage Station | Half off options up to $50,000; zero closing costs | Select quick move-ins |
Perry Homes, Turnleaf | Up to $50,000 in "Flex Cash" | Builder terms |
Taylor Morrison, Esplanade at Starling | Up to $25,000 off | Select quick move-in homes |
Pulte Homes, Cassia Bay | Up to $8,000 | Select move-in-ready homes |
D.R. Horton, Punta Gorda communities | 4.99% FHA and 5.50% conventional rates | Through DHI Mortgage, close by 15 Dec 2026 |
M/I Homes, Turnleaf | "Lock 4 Later" long-term rate lock with float-down | 16 Sep 2026 to 28 May 2027 |
Toll Brothers | 4.99% FHA on select homes | Builder's lender |
Lennar reported sales incentives of about 12.0 percent of revenue company-wide in its fiscal third quarter of 2026, with a gross margin of 15.8 percent. D.R. Horton said it expects "sales incentives to remain elevated during the fourth quarter". PulteGroup reported 1,875 Florida closings in its second quarter of 2026, 26.8 percent of its total. These are company-wide figures, not Punta Gorda figures, and they tell you that incentives are a normal part of the price rather than a favor.
Section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act bans kickbacks for referring settlement business, and an affiliated business arrangement is lawful only if you get a written disclosure, a charge estimate, and you are "not required to use" the affiliate. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Regulation X, 12 CFR 1024.15, requires the Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosure Statement. In practice a builder can make an incentive conditional on its lender; it cannot force you to use that lender for the home itself. Get a competing loan estimate before you choose.
Fannie Mae describes a temporary buydown as one that "allows borrowers to reduce their effective monthly payment for a limited period of time", and states that "the actual note rate and monthly payment that the borrower is obligated to pay is never actually reduced." Compare three offers on the same dollars: a temporary buydown, a permanent rate reduction, and a price reduction. A price cut lowers your tax base and your loan; a temporary buydown ends.
On a new home the list price is often the last thing to move. The levers are the options and upgrades, the lot premium, closing-cost credits, the rate package, the closing date, and on quick move-in homes the price itself. We work from the recorded sales of the same plan in the same community, which the county roll shows and the sales center does not.
A new home in Florida typically comes with the builder's written limited warranty, commonly one year on workmanship, two years on major systems and ten years on major structural defects. Florida's statute of repose for construction defects is now 7 years, cut from 10 in 2023, and builder warranty books generally exclude implied warranties.
D.R. Horton's limited warranty book (form MSD, 28 pages) provides one year on workmanship, two years on specified heating and cooling, electrical and plumbing systems, and ten years on Major Structural Defects. It says "Your Builder is the Warrantor during Years 1 and 2 ... and the Insurer is the Warrantor in Years 3 through 10", and "The Builder makes no housing merchant implied warranty or any other warranties ... all such warranties are excluded." This is the builder's corporate library copy; confirm the Florida form attached to your contract.
Pulte's Sawgrass Lakes page states a "10 Year Warranty", and Lennar states "Warranty coverage included". We have not read the full warranty terms of the other builders on this page. Ask for the warranty book with the contract, before you sign, and read what it excludes.
Since chapter 2023-22 took effect on 13 April 2023, section 95.11(3)(b), Florida Statutes, requires an action based on the design, planning or construction of an improvement to be brought within 7 years, measured from the earliest of the temporary certificate of occupancy, certificate of occupancy, certificate of completion or abandonment. Separately, since 2012, section 553.835 says there is no cause of action based on implied warranty "for damages to offsite improvements", meaning streets, drainage and utilities not on or under your lot.
Section 558.005 requires the contract to say "ANY CLAIMS FOR CONSTRUCTION DEFECTS ARE SUBJECT TO THE NOTICE AND CURE PROVISIONS OF CHAPTER 558, FLORIDA STATUTES." Under section 558.004 you serve written notice at least 60 days before filing suit, the builder has 30 days to inspect and 45 days to respond (longer for associations with more than 20 parcels). Photograph and document every issue from move-in onward, and report within the warranty's own deadlines.
Yes. A county or city building inspector checks code compliance, not workmanship quality or finish, and a builder's own walk-through is run by the seller. Florida has licensed home inspectors since 2010, and phase inspections before the slab, before drywall and before closing are allowed only if your contract allows access during construction.
The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation describes a home inspection as "a limited visual examination of ... readily accessible installed systems", and has required a license to perform one since 1 July 2010. A building inspector enforces the code; a home inspector reports the condition. On a new build the useful moments are before the slab is poured, before drywall closes the walls, and at the final walk-through.
Whether a builder allows a third-party inspector on site during construction is a contract term. We ask for it before signing, with notice periods for each phase, and we have not confirmed each builder's policy on this page. On a quick move-in home already finished, the pre-drywall stage has passed, so the final inspection and the one-year warranty inspection carry more weight.
The City of Punta Gorda says "Buildings must be elevated to or above the base flood elevation", and the Florida Building Code's residential flood provisions require the lowest floor in AE zones to sit at the base flood elevation plus one foot (we cite the Pinellas County government's plan-review summary of that rule because we did not read the 8th edition text itself). Charlotte County requires an elevation certificate before roof-sheathing inspection and a final one before final inspection in a Special Flood Hazard Area. The Florida Building Code 8th Edition applies to permits applied for on or after 31 December 2023.
Under the FEMA rule the city applies, an improvement or repair of more than 50 percent of a building's market value must bring the whole building up to current flood rules. A new home is built to those rules from the first day; an older home below today's base flood elevation can meet the rule on its first major renovation or storm repair. The City of Punta Gorda's Class 5 Community Rating System standing takes 25 percent off NFIP flood premiums inside the city.
A build-to-order new home in Punta Gorda usually takes most of a year from contract to closing; Maronda Homes states build times "estimated at 6 to 12 months, subject to change". A quick move-in or spec home is already under construction or finished, closes sooner, and is where most of the large advertised incentives on 24 September 2026 applied.
You choose the lot, the plan, the elevation and the options, and the builder starts after contract and financing approval. You get the home you designed and a longer exposure to rate changes, option price increases and schedule slippage. Ask how the contract handles a delayed completion date, and whether a rate lock such as M/I Homes' long-term lock is available.
The builder has already chosen the lot and options. You close sooner, often within the incentive's deadline, and the builder is carrying the cost of a finished home, which is why the largest advertised savings were on quick move-ins. Toll Brothers' Regency quick move-ins showed move-in months of January and March 2027, so "quick" varies. D.R. Horton's sheet says to contact the sales center for estimated completion dates.
Builders charge premiums for water, preserve and larger homesites ("Water view and preserve homesites" at Maronda, "Water and preserve views" at Pulte), and none of them publish the premium amounts. The design-center options sheet is often where the final price moves most. We price the lot premium against recorded sales of the same plan on comparable lots in the same community.
New construction suits a Punta Gorda buyer who wants current flood and wind code, the newest insurance credits and a warranty, and who accepts district assessments and a location mostly outside the city. Resale suits a buyer who wants the city itself, canal and sailboat water, established trees and no CDD, and who will pay for inspections, insurance and updates on an older home.
Data updated: September 2026 (US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 five-year estimates, tables B25034 and B25035; Citizens Property Insurance Corporation discounts page; Charlotte County Property Appraiser recorded sales; all retrieved 24 Sep 2026).
Year built | City of Punta Gorda, housing units | Share | Charlotte County, housing units | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 or later | 399 | 2.9% | 5,080 | 4.3% |
2010 to 2019 | 1,455 | 10.6% | 10,942 | 9.2% |
2000 to 2009 | 3,293 | 23.9% | 26,215 | 22.1% |
1990 to 1999 | 2,761 | 20.1% | 18,116 | 15.3% |
1980 to 1989 | 2,925 | 21.3% | 29,086 | 24.5% |
1970 to 1979 | 2,081 | 15.1% | 18,730 | 15.8% |
Before 1970 | 842 | 6.1% | 10,510 | 8.9% |
Median year built | 1994 | 1991 |
In the city, 62.6 percent of housing units were built before 2000. Citizens Property Insurance gives building-code credits to homes built on or after 1 January 2002, with a further credit for homes built to the 2012 code or later, and its wind-mitigation discounts apply only to the wind portion of the premium. The census bands cannot split 2000 and 2001, so the honest statement is that roughly six in ten Punta Gorda homes predate the 2002 statewide code.
Yardstick | New construction around Punta Gorda | Resale in Punta Gorda |
|---|---|---|
Location | Mostly unincorporated county and Babcock Ranch; about 3% of county single-family permits are inside the city | Every neighborhood in the city, including Punta Gorda Isles and Burnt Store Isles canals |
Water access | A few communities with lakes, canals or docks (Seagrass kayak launch, Seahaven boat docks) | Deep-water canal homes with sailboat access on much of the Punta Gorda Isles system |
Flood and wind code | Built to current elevation and the Florida Building Code in force at permit | Varies by year; older homes may sit below today's base flood elevation |
Insurance credits | Newest Citizens code credits by construction date | Credits depend on year built and a wind-mitigation report |
District and association costs | Often a CDD assessment plus an HOA or master association | Many city neighborhoods have no CDD; canal homes in Punta Gorda Isles carry the city's canal maintenance assessment |
Warranty | Builder's written warranty, commonly 1 year, 2 years on systems, 10 years structural | None beyond what the seller discloses; a home warranty is optional |
Price and negotiation | Builder price plus lot premium and options; incentives are the main lever | Negotiated against recorded comparable sales and inspection findings |
Timing | 6 to 12 months to build to order; quick move-ins sooner | Set by the contract, usually weeks rather than months |
Buyer representation | Must be registered at the first builder contact | Written buyer agreement before touring |
Deposit protection | Escrow under s. 501.1375 up to 10%, waivable | Escrow with the title company or broker under the contract |
Choose new if the priorities are an insurable, code-current house with a warranty, a single-story plan with an open layout, low maintenance for the first decade, and a closing you can schedule around the sale of your current home. Retirees in the 55-plus neighborhoods, families who want a newer house with room to grow, and buyers whose insurer has priced older homes out of reach are the natural fit.
Choose resale if the priorities are living inside the city near the harbor, a canal lot with a dock, a mature neighborhood without a CDD, or a home you can close on next month. Boaters, buyers who want to walk to downtown and the Harborwalk, and buyers who would rather negotiate against recorded comparable sales than against a builder's incentive sheet are the natural fit. Our guide to buying a home in Punta Gorda covers the resale side in full.
Many of the buyers we represent tour both. The practical test is the monthly cost of ownership at the same price: mortgage, taxes at the right millage, CDD and association, insurance quoted on the specific home, and on a canal home the seawall assessment. Run that number for your top two new homes and your top two resale homes, and the choice is usually obvious.
We represent a Punta Gorda new-construction buyer by getting in front of the builder before you do, reading the documents the sales center hands over, and negotiating the parts of a builder contract that actually move. The checklist below is the one we run on every new build, and it is why the first call should come before the first model visit.
We confirm the builder's current broker policy in writing, pre-register you by phone or email where the builder allows it, and tell you not to fill in any website form or chat first. We pull the recorded sales of the community and of the plans you like, the parcel's tax district, the flood zone of the lots on offer, and the district's adopted budget for the year you will close in.
We walk the model with you, collect the price sheet, the lot premium list, the options price list, the incentive terms with their expiry dates, the purchase agreement, the HOA disclosure summary, the CDD disclosure and the warranty book. Nothing is signed at the first visit.
We read the deposit and escrow paragraph, the waiver line, the completion-date and delay clauses, the inspection access clause, the financing contingency and the lender-incentive conditions. We get a competing loan estimate. We negotiate options, lot premium, closing credits and on a quick move-in home the price, against recorded sales rather than the builder's comparables.
We attend the phase inspections the contract allows, the orientation and the final walk-through, check the survey and elevation certificate, and diary the one-year warranty inspection. We represented buyers the same way long before the 2024 national settlement made written agreements universal, and the method is unchanged.
If the answer turns out to be resale, the same team runs that search. Our Punta Gorda buyer's guide covers the city, the canals, the seawall assessment and the resale contract, and our guide to buying a home in Estero covers the Lee County market further south.
Most new-construction buyers in Southwest Florida are also sellers, and a builder's completion date and your sale have to meet. McGreevy and Comisar list and sell homes across Charlotte, Lee and Collier counties, so one team can time your sale to the builder's closing and negotiate both sides of the move.
Before you sign a builder contract, know what your current home will sell for and how long it will take. Get a Punta Gorda home valuation from us, or read how we sell homes in Punta Gorda. Check whether the builder contract includes a contingency for the sale of your current home; if it does not, the timing is yours to manage.
On a quick move-in home the builder will want to close within weeks. On a build-to-order home you may have six to twelve months, which is enough to sell, rent back or move twice. We map the sale to the builder's schedule before you choose which kind of new home to buy.
Browsing inventory is the easy part and the builders' own sites do it well; the harder part is knowing which listing is a quick move-in with a dated incentive and which is a plan that will not be built for a year. For current listings across Punta Gorda, including resale and new homes on the MLS, see the Punta Gorda listings on Domain Realty Group, our team's site.
Builder prices, incentives and quick move-in inventory change every week, and a price list on this page would be wrong within days. The table above shows ranges and the date we read them. Send us the communities you are considering and we will send back the current price sheets, the recorded sales and the district budget for each.
The new communities sit a short drive from downtown Punta Gorda, the Harborwalk and Fishermen's Village. Our guide to things to do in Punta Gorda and our county guides to Charlotte County restaurants, golf in Charlotte County and Charlotte County parks cover daily life, and our Port Charlotte guide covers the city across the river.
A Punta Gorda new construction consultation is a short call or meeting before you visit any model home, where we confirm the builder policies that affect your representation, pull recorded sales and district budgets for the communities on your list, and set out what we would negotiate. There is no charge and no obligation.
A shortlist of communities that fit your budget once district assessments and insurance are counted, each builder's current registration rule, the recorded sales of the plans you like, and a plan for your first visits. If you are also selling, a valuation and a timeline.
Use the Punta Gorda new construction consultation form on this page, read how we represent buyers in Southwest Florida, or call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072 or Marc at (239) 287-5873. Call before you click any builder's inquiry form.
Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar are top-reviewed Southwest Florida buyer's agents, and the quotes below are genuine five-star Google reviews from clients we represented, reproduced word for word. One of them is about the builder negotiation this page describes.
★★★★★ "Marc has been a great help in securing a great price for our home during its build phase. Negotiated a much better deal from the builder." Verified Google review
★★★★★ "Marc was extremely helpful in the sale of our old home and getting our new home to the condition that we wanted it to make it ours. He has been available to us for every step of our journey, even after the transaction closed." Verified Google review
★★★★★ "He knew the area and therefore knew exactly where to take us to find the exact kind of neighborhood we were looking for and he was right on the money." Verified Google review
★★★★★ "Marc is one of the most down to earth realtors that really listens to your needs and is exceptional at finding the right house." Verified Google review
★★★★★ "Working with Jesse and his team was truly an amazing experience. From the very beginning, they were professional, attentive, and incredibly knowledgeable. They guided us through every step of the process with patience and clarity, always making sure we felt comfortable and informed with every decision." Verified Google review
★★★★★ "Jesse and his team were the most professional and communicative people throughout the entire process! Always available and helpful! Highly recommended!" Verified Google review
These are questions a Punta Gorda new-construction buyer will ask that no primary source we could read on 24 September 2026 answered. We name the gap and the document that closes it rather than print a number from a sales sheet or a competitor's blog.
Mostly outside the city limits: on Burnt Store Road (Turnleaf, Esplanade at Starling, Coral Lakes, Cassia Bay, Heritage Station, Heritage Landing and the Burnt Store Village lots), at Interstate 75 and Tuckers Grade (Willow), and in Babcock Ranch. Inside the city, D.R. Horton's Seagrass and Sea Cove and Taylor Morrison's Seahaven condominium are the production communities.
On 24 September 2026 the builders selling under a Punta Gorda address included Lennar, D.R. Horton, Pulte Homes, Taylor Morrison, Toll Brothers, Maronda Homes, Dream Finders Homes, M/I Homes, Perry Homes, Century Complete, Meritage Homes, William Ryan Homes, DiVosta, High Point Living, Park Square Homes and Florida Lifestyle Homes, plus custom builders on individual lots.
About 34 across the Punta Gorda ZIP codes, including Turnleaf, Willow, Esplanade at Starling, Coral Lakes, Cassia Bay, Heritage Station, Heritage Landing, Seagrass, Sea Cove, Seahaven, the scattered lots of Burnt Store Village, Tropical Gulf Acres, Deep Creek and Harbour Heights, and about 17 neighborhoods in Babcock Ranch.
Builder-published starting prices on 24 September 2026 ran from about $210,000 for a Lennar townhome at Willow to the $500,000s and above for Perry Homes at Turnleaf and Toll Brothers' Waterview Landing in Babcock Ranch. The recorded builder-direct median across the five Punta Gorda ZIP codes was $349,900 over twelve months.
You do not legally need one, and Lennar's FAQ says so. But the builder's salesperson works for the builder, the contract is the builder's, and builders such as D.R. Horton and Lennar pay a buyer's agent only if the agent is registered at your first contact. When the builder's policy pays the buyer's agent, bringing one can cost the buyer nothing extra.
Usually not with the builder paying. D.R. Horton requires the agent to register the client before or at the first visit and excludes a client already registered on its website, and Lennar requires the broker at the buyer's first interaction with a Lennar employee. Call your agent before any visit, form or chat.
It can. D.R. Horton's policy disqualifies a client who "previously registered on the D.R. Horton website or communicated with D.R. Horton's sales agent", and Lennar counts virtual visits. Treat any form, chat or call to a builder as the first contact and have your agent register you before it.
Often the builder, under its own written policy: D.R. Horton's Southwest Florida sheet says up to 4 percent of the final price, capped by your agreement with your agent. Your written buyer agreement, signed before touring, states the agent's compensation and who pays it, so there is no surprise at closing.
Deposits up to 10 percent of the purchase price must go into escrow under section 501.1375, Florida Statutes, unless you waive that right in writing. The part of a deposit above 10 percent is not covered by that section, and non-refundable options deposits are governed by the contract.
A Community Development District is a local special district that finances roads, drainage and utilities with bonds and levies assessments on the property tax bill to repay them and run the district. Tern Bay, Tuckers Pointe, Coral Lakes and Starling are CDDs in this guide; Babcock Ranch has its own independent special district.
A CDD is a unit of local government whose assessments appear on the county tax bill and pay for public infrastructure and its upkeep. An HOA is a private association under Chapter 720 whose dues pay for common areas and rules. Many new communities have both, and you pay both.
Yes, where a community has both. In Babcock Ranch, for example, the district assessment, the master association assessment of $1,632 a year and any neighborhood association dues are separate charges. Cassia Bay and Heritage Station state that they have no CDD.
Yes. The Tern Bay CDD operations assessment at Heritage Landing rose from $377.44 in FY2025 to $800.00 in FY2026 and $1,356.09 adopted for FY2027. Debt-service assessments are set by the bond schedule, while operations assessments follow each year's adopted budget.
The Tern Bay CDD operations assessment is $1,356.09 per unit in the FY2027 adopted budget, and FY2026 debt service ran from $995.68 on a terrace condominium to $1,849.13 on an estate home. Association dues vary by product and are set in each association's own budget, which we request for the home you are considering.
The developer says Turnleaf has a CDD whose assessments appear on the property tax bill, plus an HOA, but we could not read either figure from a primary source on 24 September 2026. Ask the sales center for the district's adopted budget and the association budget in writing before you sign.
Charlotte County charges $7,804 per single-family home in the unincorporated county, $3,396 inside the City of Punta Gorda plus the city's own fees, and $1,515 inside Babcock Ranch. On a builder's home they are in the price; on a build-on-your-lot contract they should be a line item.
Mostly the county. About 3 percent of Charlotte County's new single-family permits in 2025 were inside the City of Punta Gorda. Check the tax district on the parcel record, because the ZIP code does not tell you.
No. Cali Cove and Seagrass share the 33950 ZIP code; Seagrass is inside the city and Cali Cove is in the unincorporated county. Every community on Burnt Store Road in 33955 is unincorporated.
Builders sell their own homes and most do not list them on the MLS. In the twelve months to 9 September 2026, about 35 percent of recorded home sales in the five Punta Gorda ZIP codes were builder-direct, and 64 percent in 33982.
Only if its offer beats a competing loan estimate on the same terms. The builder can tie an incentive to its affiliated lender, but federal law says you are not required to use an affiliate and must receive an Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosure Statement.
Discounts or credits a builder offers to close a sale: price reductions on quick move-ins, options credits, closing-cost payments and below-market mortgage rates through its lender. On 24 September 2026 advertised incentives in Punta Gorda ran from about $8,000 to $200,000.
Yes, especially on quick move-in homes, options, lot premiums, closing credits and closing dates. Base prices on to-be-built homes move less. Recorded sales of the same plan in the same community are the best evidence of what the builder has accepted.
It depends on how long you keep the loan. A temporary buydown lowers your payment for a set period, but Fannie Mae notes the note rate you are obligated to pay is never reduced. A price cut lowers the loan and the tax base for good. Compare both on the same dollars.
Usually the builder's written limited warranty, commonly one year on workmanship, two years on major systems and ten years on major structural defects, often insured after year two. Read the warranty book before signing, because builders typically exclude implied warranties.
Seven years, since chapter 2023-22 took effect on 13 April 2023; it was ten. It runs from the earliest of the temporary certificate of occupancy, certificate of occupancy, certificate of completion or abandonment.
Yes, if the contract allows access. A pre-drywall inspection is the last chance to see framing, wiring, plumbing and fastening before walls close. Florida has licensed home inspectors since 2010; the builder's own inspections and the code inspector do not work for you.
Builders state their own estimates; Maronda Homes gives 6 to 12 months, subject to change. Quick move-in homes are already under way, though "quick" can still mean several months.
A home the builder has already started or finished, with the lot and options chosen. It closes sooner than a build-to-order home, and on 24 September 2026 most of the largest advertised incentives in Punta Gorda applied to quick move-ins.
An extra charge for a homesite with a water view, a preserve view or a larger size. Builders around Punta Gorda advertise water and preserve homesites but do not publish premium amounts, so ask for the lot premium list.
Some are. New homes in a Special Flood Hazard Area must be elevated to the base flood elevation, with the lowest floor at base flood elevation plus one foot in AE zones under the Florida Building Code, and need elevation certificates. Check the flood zone of the specific lot.
Often, because Citizens and other insurers give building-code credits for homes built on or after 2002 and further credits under newer codes, and a new home has a new roof. Get a quote on the specific home before the end of your inspection or option period.
New suits buyers who want code-current, insurable, low-maintenance homes and accept district assessments and locations mostly outside the city. Resale suits buyers who want the city itself, canal access and no CDD. The decision table on this page compares them on ten yardsticks.
The developer's builder page lists D.R. Horton, Dream Finders Homes, DiVosta, High Point Living, Lennar, Meritage Homes, Park Square Homes, Pulte Homes, Toll Brothers and William Ryan Homes, and its neighborhoods page also names Florida Lifestyle Homes.
No. Willow, recorded as Tuckers Pointe, is Lennar's and Toll Brothers' community at Interstate 75 and Tuckers Grade in unincorporated Charlotte County, with its own CDD.
It has a Punta Gorda mailing address but sits in Lee County, not Charlotte County, so it is outside the scope of the Charlotte County figures on this page.
Often low, because it reflects the land or a partly built house. Florida law requires sellers to warn that a change of ownership or improvements triggers reassessment. Budget from the finished value, the correct millage, the CDD or district assessment and association dues.
Under section 720.401, if the HOA disclosure summary is not provided before you sign, you may void the contract within 3 days after receiving it or before closing, whichever comes first, and that right cannot be waived.
Under section 720.307, three months after 90 percent of the parcels in all phases are conveyed to owners other than the developer, unless the governing documents provide earlier, with at least one owner-elected director once 50 percent are conveyed.
Every document below is hosted by the organization that issued it. We link to the source rather than re-host it, so you always read the current version.
Document | Issuer | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
Southwest Florida inventory sheet and broker terms, effective 25 Aug 2026 | D.R. Horton | The first-visit registration rule and the up-to-4-percent terms |
D.R. Horton | The 1, 2 and 10 year structure and the implied-warranty exclusion | |
Charlotte County | Fees by jurisdiction and the footnotes | |
Tern Bay Community Development District | The $1,356.09 operations assessment | |
Tern Bay Community Development District | Debt service by product | |
Tern Bay Community Development District | The notice owners received | |
Florida Auditor General filing | Bonds and developer-affiliated board | |
Florida Auditor General filing | Bonds and developer-affiliated board | |
D.R. Horton | Company-wide incentive outlook | |
US Census Bureau | Charlotte County permits | |
US Census Bureau | City of Punta Gorda permits and months reported | |
Building Permits Survey, metro year-to-date file, August 2026 | US Census Bureau | 2026 year-to-date permits |
Every source below was read on the date shown. Builder and developer sites are cited only for their own communities and policies.
By Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar. For this page we tracked 4,259 qualified recorded home sales in the five Punta Gorda ZIP codes from the Charlotte County Property Appraiser's sales file, and we read each builder's own community pages, the district filings and the 2026 Florida Statutes, so the figures here come from public records and the builders' own documents rather than estimates from a sales center. Updated September 2026.
McGreevy and Comisar is the flagship brand of Domain Realty Group, the #1 real estate team in Southwest Florida since 2012, with $2.5 Billion in cumulative production and more than 4,000 transactions across Lee, Collier and Charlotte County. Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar have personally sold over $900 million in Southwest Florida real estate, hold the Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008 distinction, and have been recognized with the Gulfshore Life Five Star award for 21 consecutive years. Jesse co-founded the brokerage in 2015 and has been selling in this market since October 2004.
If you're searching for the best realtor for new construction in Punta Gorda, Florida, McGreevy and Comisar represents new-home buyers at builder sales centers across Southwest Florida, from Babcock Ranch and Punta Gorda to Estero, Bonita Springs, Naples and Fort Myers. Bring us before your first model-home visit, and we read the builder's contract, the district budget and the warranty book with you, register with the builder so our side is paid by the builder where its policy allows, and negotiate the options, the incentives and the closing date as hard as a resale.
Jesse McGreevy direct: (239) 898-6072. Marc Comisar direct: (239) 287-5873. Email: [email protected]. Office: 24031 S Tamiami Trl #101, Bonita Springs, FL 34134.
More on the team at about McGreevy and Comisar, or reach us through our contact page for Southwest Florida buyers and sellers. McGreevy and Comisar lead Domain Realty Group, a full-service Southwest Florida real estate team. The area guide for this page is our Punta Gorda area guide, and the county hub is our Charlotte County guide.
Send us the new communities on your list and we will send back each builder's current registration rule, the district's adopted budget, the parcel's jurisdiction and the recorded sales of the plans you like, with the source document behind every figure. Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072 before your first builder visit. You are working with Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008, and there is no obligation.
Updated September 2026. This page is general information about buying a new-construction home in and around Punta Gorda, Florida. It is not legal, tax or insurance advice, and it is not an offer of representation. Builder prices and incentives change weekly, statutory figures change annually and market figures change monthly. Jesse McGreevy, SL3101296, and Marc Comisar, BK3060671, are licensed by the Florida Real Estate Commission under Chapter 475, Florida Statutes. Brokered by Domain Realty.