Satellite Beach Florida Pros and Cons of Satellite Beach
Every city and town you are living in (or considering a move to) has its pros and cons, even a slice of paradise like Satellite Beach Florida. Here are the pros and cons of living in Satellite Beach.
The Beach
Satellite Beach, like the other beach towns in Brevard County, has miles of beautiful sandy beaches to enjoy. Here is what I love about the beaches in Satellite Beach:
Easy beach access and 5 beach-front parks to enjoy. You have Pelican Beach Park, Hightower Beach Park, Crotty Beach Park, Sea Gull Park and S.P.R.A. Park. They all have FREE parking and easy beach access. Pelican Beach and Hightower Beach both have pavilions, restrooms and showers. Pelican Beach also has volleyball courts. There is also free parking and beach access at Grant Ave, Magellan Ave, and Palmetto Ave.
The con to the beach access in Satellite Beach is parking. Unless you have an ocean front condo or ocean front home, those 5 parks and 3 street access points are the only spots you can park at the beach. The other beach access points can only be accessed on foot or bicycle.
If you like to have a cold adult beverage on the beach, you are out of luck in Satellite Beach. The city of Satellite Beach does not allow alcoholic beverages on their beaches.
One other con with the beaches in Satellite Beach is the coquina rock in the surf. There are sections of beach from the Hangers in Patrick Space Force Base to south of the Eau Gallie Causeway where there are rocks at the waterline in the ocean. Satellite Beach does have signs on the beach access points that could have rocks in the water.
Water Water Everywhere
Your East border is the Atlantic Ocean and the west border is the Banana River. If you have a boat and love the idea of getting on the intercoastal, Satellite Beach is a prime location with home sites on canals or directly on the Banana River. It is really easy to access the Intercoastal from Satellite Beach, just head south until the Banana River connects with the Indian River at Dragon Point. This is really important if you have a sailboat, since you are south of the Pineda Causeway and do not have to deal with the lower causeway bridges to gain access to the Intercoastal waters. (The Pineda Causeway bridge over the Banana River is 43’) The only con I can think of for living on the river or canals would be distance to the beach. You are over a mile from the beach as the crow flies and it’s probably a realistic 1.5 to 2 miles to a beach access because of how the cross streets are set up.
Great parks and outdoor activities.
Satellite Beach has a skate park. They have a dog park. There are tennis courts & racquetball courts. There’s basketball courts and baseball/softball fields. There are volleyball courts at Pelican Beach Park. There is Samson Island located off the Grand Canal and the Banana River between Tortoise Island and Lansing Island, which is only accessible by the water. The con to this is that Satellite Beach does not offer any public boat launches for either a motor boat or your kayak, paddleboard or canoe. You have to launch from either the Pineda Causeway, Oars & Paddles in Indian Harbour Beach or have a friend that lives on a canal or the river in Satellite Beach.
Something else that is missing in Satellite Beach is a golf course. The only beachside golf courses are in Cocoa Beach, on Patrick Space Force Base, or Spessard Holland Golf Course in Melbourne Beach. So if you are dreaming of living on the golf course in a beach community, Satellite Beach is not for you. (I think Satellite Beach actually did a good thing not having a golf course, but that is a whole other conversation)
Location
You have the beaches right across the street. You have A1A connecting you to other great beach communities here in Brevard County and across the East Coast. You have the Pineda Causeway and Eau Gallie Causeway connecting you to the Mainland & I95. You can be just about anywhere in the county in 35-40 minutes.
Besides A1A running North to South through the city on the East side of town, you also have South Patrick drive connecting the north and south on the west side of town. These two roadways along with several cross streets connecting the two thoroughfares make getting around Satellite Beach pretty easy!
You are located on a Barrier Island, which is great care free living most of the year. Except for Hurricane Season which is June to November. This is really only a concern IF a storm is heading towards Florida. Since you are living on a barrier island, IF the governor calls for a mandatory evacuation; anyone on a barrier island is asked to evacuate.
Another con to the barrier that is enhanced by the threat of a hurricane is the cost for your homeowners insurance. The closer to the ocean, the more your insurance will be. Since ALL of Satellite Beach is near the ocean, you will be paying double; maybe even triple for the same house located on the mainland.
Not in a flood zone
You would think living on a barrier island & being surrounded by water, you would be in a flood zone. Surprise, Most of Satellite Beach (really most of the A1A corridor) is in flood zone X which does not require flood insurance. Only the ocean front properties are definitely in a flood zone and some of the riverfront & canal-front homes are in an actual flood zone.
Property taxes
Not only are the property taxes for the city of Satellite Beach the highest millage rate along the A1A corridor, it is one of the highest in Brevard County. (Melbourne Village and Palm Bay are 1st & 2nd) If you live inside the city limits of Satellite Beach, your millage rate is $19.8020. If you live in South Patrick Shores (north Satellite Beach), your millage rate is 13.1101…Here is a breakdown of the other municipalities beach-side as a comparison
Schools
Depending on where you are living, here are the schools for Satellite Beach.
Elementary: Sea Park, Holland, and Surfside
DeLaura Middle School
Satellite Beach High School
As a Realtor, it is frowned upon if I say a school is good or bad. BUT there are some great resources I can recommend so you can do your own research on the quality of schools in Satellite Beach (or any town/city in Brevard County). Two sites I refer to often is SchoolDigger.com and the Florida Today. Both of these sites give the schools in Satellite Beach good ratings…You should still do your research!
https://data.floridatoday.com/school/brevard/
The Real Estate
Satellite Beach offers a good variety of options to live. Do you want a house? More homes sell in Satellite Beach than any other beach community on the Space Coast. Homes range in size from a cozy 900 SqFt home built in the 1950’s to massive estate homes that are over 7000 SqFt. Your home can be ocean-front, canal-front, river-front, or a dry lot. There are gated communities, there are HOA communities and non-hoa communities too. There is also a wide variety of price points too. The home sales in 2020 ranged from $181K to $1.88M
There is a large selection of condos to choose from. Except for a couple of condominium communities on South Patrick Drive; all the condos in Satellite Beach are along A1A. If you want a condo that is ocean front, Satellite Beach has quite a few to choose from. If you are looking for a condo that is on a higher floor; Satellite Beach has a good selection of condos that are over 5 stories too. If you are looking for a cozy beachside condo, there are efficiencies or 1 bedroom condos under 500SqFt. If you are looking for a little more space, there are condos over 3500SqFt in Satellite Beach. Condo sales in 2020 ranged from $75K to $1.399M
Satellite Beach also has a good selection of either townhomes or half duplexes. Most of these are considered dry lots, but there is a selection of townhomes and half duplexes that are ocean-front. Some are in HOA’s and some are non-HOA properties. Townhome and half duplex sales in 2020 ranged from
If you are looking to purchase any of these properties as an investment to place long term tenants, the city of Satellite Beach welcomes you! If you are looking for an investment to use as a short term rental, you will need to do your research. The city of Satellite Beach wants this a place to call home and is not very open to short term rentals. If you want to rent a property for less than 30 days, you might not have an option. The city of Satellite Beach only allows 30 day minimum rentals on property that is EAST of A1A. West of A1A will need to be for a longer term.
Eric Larkin is a Broker Associate with Real Broker, LLC. He lives, works, and plays in the Cocoa Beach area. If you have questions about moving or relocating to Cocoa Beach and the Space Coast, let me know! I get calls, texts, direct messages & comments on my posts every day about the real estate market and things that are happening in Cocoa Beach and the Space Coast that I love answering. Ask me your questions on moving, relocating here, or anything about the community. I am here to help. I have been helping buyers and sellers with their real estate needs since becoming a real estate agent in 2003. My focus is always on helping, answering your questions, and doing everything possible to make certain you have a smooth transaction from beginning to end.
What questions do you have about buying or selling a home? Contact Me
Call/Text 321-795-1854
Email Eric@EricLarkin.com
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