Vetter Isles Estates

Vetter Isles Estates In Merritt Island, Florida

Four plats carry the name: Vetter Isles Estates Section 1, a Section 1 Replat, Section 2, Section 3 and Section 4, all recorded in the early sixties when dredge and fill canal subdivisions were going in across the middle of Merritt Island. The streets are first names and plant names rather than themes: Hannah Drive, Barrett Drive, Cunningham Avenue, Holly Avenue, Jacaranda Street, and the two short stubs, Wiley Court and Janice Court. Several of them dead end at the water, which keeps through traffic near zero.

The houses are small by current standards and that is the point of the pricing. Living area runs 1,047 to 1,656 square feet with about 1,452 in the middle, three bedrooms and two baths on 0.17 to 0.21 of an acre. Block and concrete construction, shingle roofs, single story almost without exception. Garages run one to two and a half bays. Nobody comes here for the floor plan. They come for the seawall behind it.

That water is the whole argument. Canal frontage on these streets connects out to Sykes Creek, and from there you have the run north to the Canaveral Barge Canal and east through the Canaveral Lock to the ocean. Two thirds of the properties here carry navigable access, several have docks and seawalls in place, and canal views come standard. Check air draft before you buy a boat for this dock: Sykes Creek passes under a fixed span at State Road 528, and the Courtenay Parkway bascule clears about 21.6 feet closed.

There is no homeowners association at Vetter Isles Estates. No dues, no board, no architectural committee. On waterfront that cuts both ways. Nobody assesses you for a common dock you never use, and nobody maintains a common seawall on your behalf either. Every seawall, every dock and every lift on these canals is a private owner responsibility. Docks, seawalls and lifts go through Brevard County Planning and Development as a Residential Marine Construction permit, with Natural Resources review for shoreline work and a survey less than 180 days old.

Pricing has run $339,000 to $599,900 with the middle near $507,000, and about $353 a square foot. That per foot number is among the highest on this list, which is exactly what happens when a small house sits on good water. The market here is patient rather than hot: time to contract has run about 80 days and sellers have been landing near 90 percent of their original asking price. Sellers who price to the seawall's actual condition sell; sellers who price to the view alone sit.