New Smyrna Beach, Florida

It's a coastal town built around beach access and the Intracoastal, with distinct neighborhoods like North Beach and Central Beach and a calmer pace than the big Florida metros. Assigned schools include New Smyrna Beach High and Coronado Beach Elementary, and downtown Orlando is roughly 67 minutes away when you want the city.

It sits in the mid-range for coastal Florida, with a median list price of $510,000 and an average of $417 per square foot. That said, the market stretches from the mid-$160,000s to nearly $6.9 million, so you can browse by price to find where your budget lands.

The median list price is $510,000 on a median home size around 1,643 square feet, which works out to roughly $417 per square foot. There are 651 active listings right now, including 48 new construction options and 121 homes priced above $1 million on the luxury end.

With 651 homes active and a median 57 days on market, buyers generally have time to make considered offers rather than rushing. It's worth watching the just reduced listings, since that two-month median suggests some sellers are adjusting price.

The median HOA runs about $510 per month, which is common in the condo and gated communities that make up a good share of the market. Median property tax comes in around $5,314 per year, so factor both into your monthly budget alongside the purchase price.