Being from Miami Beach and going to Melbourne Beach and seeing what you can buy on the ocean, I was very surprised by how much value you get for your money and still being in a great and centralized location. Having owned oceanfront property in the south beaches of Melbourne Beach, Florida since 2000, I saw the property values rise quickly to about the middle of 2004. That was the time Brevard County and Melbourne Beach got slammed with two hurricanes courtesy of Ms. Jeanne and Ms. Francis within 3 weeks of each other. The beautiful and charming town of Melbourne Beach as we knew it then was partially destroyed. It has been a slow road back but slowly the residents have been rebuilding, the center of town has made a big come back as well. The town has a beautiful new library, police station, fire station, Town Hall, parks, restaurants, etc... Melbourne Beach is the epitimy of old Florida. It is one of the best areas for surfing on the eastern seaboard of the USA from the Sebasian Inlet State Park (http://www.floridastateparks.org/sebastianinlet/) north. Kelley Slater, the most sucessful professional surfer in the history of the sport and 8 time world champion, grew up surfing in Melbourne Beach at the Sebastian Inlet.
The sea turtle nesting (Green, Loggerhead and Leatherback Turtles) has also returned better than ever. In 2006, the rare and endangered Leatherback Turtles set a record for the number of nests, 70, that were discovered in the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge (http://www.fws.gov/archiecarr/). The beaches in the refuge in Melbourne Beach provide nesting habitat for about one forth of all sea turle nesting in the United States (http://www.hometownnewsol.com/). The sea turtles nest from March to November.
One can still purchase a lot on the ocean for +/- $1 million to build their dream home. Renovated or new homes start in the $1.5M-$2M range. Heisman Trophy winning and New England Patriot quarterback, Doug Flutie recently purchased an oceanfront home for $2.1M. Doug Flutie lived part of his childhood in Melbourne Beach. Melbourne Beach is the best kept secret in Florida for oceanfront properties.
Best available ocean front property:
8045 S Hwy A1A, Melbourne Beach, Fla. $2,350,000.
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