Your Guide to Beachside Living on Florida’s Space Coast
Dreaming of a life where the Atlantic Ocean is your backyard and rocket launches are your evening entertainment? Florida’s Space Coast offers a string of unique and vibrant beachside communities, each with its own distinct personality. From the bustling hub of Cocoa Beach to the quiet charm of Melbourne Beach, here’s a look at why one of these towns might be the perfect place for you to call home.
Cape Canaveral is a laid-back beach town offering easy access to the beaches and puts you front row to things happening at the Port and Space Center. It is not uncommon to hear the horn from the Disney Cruise Lines play either the Pirates Life For Me or Wish Upon A Star. Rocket launches will light up the evening sky, and even if you forgot there was a launch, you are close enough to the Space Center that the rumble will shake your house and remind you just missed the launch.
Cape Canaveral does cater to the tourists, snowbirds, and 2nd home residents. There is a hub of hotels at the north end of town near the Port on A1A, and a fair supply of vacation/airBnB type properties. With that said, there are also those of us who live in Cape Canaveral year round, too.
Condos make up the largest choice of properties to live in, followed by single family homes, townhomes, or multi-family properties. Most of these are located east of A1A, which makes getting to the beach pretty easy since you probably do not have to cross the 4 lanes of traffic with your board, family, or beach gear. A lot of the President’s streets are in Cape Canaveral & most of them end at the beach.
Cocoa Beach is the neighbor to the south of Cape Canaveral and has been labeled the small wave capital of the world (which can really apply to the east coast of Florida). Just like Cape Canaveral, the city of Cocoa Beach relies on the tourist industry to support the local economy. This includes the cruise ships at Port Canaveral, the space industry fan club & those here to support the launch.
Cocoa Beach was made famous in the 1960s thanks to I Dream Of Jeannie, the space race, and for the last 30 years as the home to surfing legend Kelly Slater.
Really, I think that Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral are pretty similar. They have their hotels & vacation rentals for the transient population. You have a lot of 2nd home/snowbird owners and daytrippers from Orlando. You also have your year round resident in Cocoa Beach, too. Most of your living options are condos, followed by single family homes, townhomes, or multi family properties. The north end of town (north of 520), most of the residents are on the east side of A1A. As you head south, there are more options on the west side of A1A. The bonus is between the Triangles, where A1A splits. Having to deal with just 2 lanes of traffic at a time makes it easier to get to and from the beach.
Something that doesn’t get talked about enough with Cocoa Beach is the food scene. There are a lot of restaurants in Cocoa Beach, and most of them are excellent. You have everything from very casual dining to high end meals with every price point too. Just from the Kelly Slater statue to 1st St South, there are 40+ places to eat & drink.
Heading south on A1A to the other side of Patrick Space Force Base is Satellite Beach. This is a very residential, year round living type of community. Even though there are snowbirds, 2nd homes, & vacation homes here, there aren’t any hotels in the city limits. They also frown on the airBnB type property by having a 90 day minimum rental on property on the west side of A1A and 30 day minimum for property on the east side of A1A.
You have more single family homes to choose from in Satellite Beach compared to the other beach towns in Brevard County. Most of the condos are oceanfront or near A1A. There are some townhomes and multifamily properties.
Indian Harbour Beach shares the 32937 zip code with Satellite Beach. I believe these two cities are pretty similar. There are more single-family home options to call home compared to the condos, townhomes, and multifamily homes. The high school-aged kids all go to Satellite High. Both have most of the population west of A1A. There are a few streets that lead to the beach, but most of the beach access points are either paths or at a city/county park. The one difference is the vacation rentals. IHB will allow daily rentals, similar to Cocoa Beach. Please contact the city to learn more about what is required to use your property as a short-term rental.
Indialantic is considered a town and not a city (even though I use both to describe any of our beachside communities) The 32903 zip code is Indialantic. Most of which is outside the city limits. From the Eau Gallie Causeway south to Long Doggers is unincorporated. From Long Doggers south to Miami Ave is the town of Indialantic. Even though they do cater to and rely on visitors coming to their beaches, the tourist, the day trippers…There are a lot of year round residents, 2nd home owners, or snowbirds in this area. Mostly single-family homes with some condos, townhomes, or multi-family properties. I have always liked the vibe that Indialantic has. They have a different type of beach here than in the Cocoa Beach area. There’s a high dune line you have to walk down to get to the beach. This is either stairs or a ramp at your favorite beach access point. The beach is a little shorter here than Cocoa Beach & Cape Canaveral. The waves break differently here, too. It’s not uncommon to have a little shorepound that you need to get by to paddle out.
Melbourne Beach is another quaint beach town. The city limits are from Miami Ave south to almost Spensor Holland Park. Their downtown is along Ocean Ave. If you haven’t been here, it’s worth checking out. They have a fishing pier on the Indian River on the west side of Ocean Ave and a nice park on the ocean on the east end. There’s a playground, basketball courts, and tennis courts. The residents of Melbourne Beach want to stay a small town and do not like national chains coming in to set up shop. It is mostly single-family homes with a handful of condos, townhomes, and multi-family properties.
A1A is only 2 lanes. They have their crosswalks to get to the beach and use a flag system to alert traffic to stop to let the pedestrians cross. Parking passes on the beach streets are for residents only. There are definitely fewer people using the beaches in Melbourne Beach compared to their neighbors to the north.
As you head south on A1A outside the city limits, you are still in their zip code, 32951, just in unincorporated Brevard. From here south to Sebastian Inlet, it is like a whole other world compared to the rest of A1A. Lots of raw land, undeveloped land. The homes are spread out. The condos are spread out. Once you pass the Publix, you might pass the occasional gas station or bait shop for a convenience stop (water, soda, bathroom break)
Here is a breakdown of the size of these beach towns. Indialantic is the smallest. Cocoa Beach and Satellite Beach is the largest. This is based on city/town limits.
By zip code since they all have unincorporated (except for IHB and CC)
Here are the sales range and median prices by area
Condos
| City | Low | High | Average | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Canaveral | $70,000.00 | $1,200,000.00 | $326,866.91 | $288,000.00 |
| Cocoa Beach | $145,000.00 | $3,150,000.00 | $595,889.70 | $410,000.00 |
| Indialantic | $155,500.00 | $2,425,000.00 | $589,006.86 | $515,000.00 |
| Indian Harbour Beach | $43,000.00 | $1,025,000.00 | $386,720.00 | $295,000.00 |
| Melbourne | $215,000.00 | $265,000.00 | $238,333.33 | $235,000.00 |
| Melbourne Beach | $120,000.00 | $1,371,020.00 | $589,805.37 | $535,000.00 |
| Satellite Beach | $108,000.00 | $1,477,000.00 | $594,241.12 | $530,000.00 |
Single Family Homes
| City | Low Sales Price | High Sales Price | Average Sales Price | Median Sales Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Canaveral | 330000 | 1737500 | 689375 | 550000 |
| Cocoa Beach | 380000 | 2580000 | 866039 | 720000 |
| Indialantic | 240000 | 3300000 | 759582 | 660000 |
| Indian Harbour Beach | 301000 | 4900000 | 913427 | 615000 |
| Melbourne Beach | 270000 | 6150000 | 996158 | 782500 |
| Satellite Beach | 300000 | 2700000 | 705883 | 604300 |
As you can see, even though condo sales are up and down the beach, more happen in Cape Canaveral & Cocoa Beach compared to the others. Same with single-family homes. More happens in Satellite Beach, Indialantic, and Melbourne Beach than in the others. If you are interested in seeing what is available for sale in any of the beach towns, this link will take you to the active listings. https://www.ericlarkin.com/beachtownsspacecoast
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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.
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