Merritt Island, Brevard County
On Merritt Island we can build on a lot you own. We may also take a lot in trade, and sometimes we buy the lot and roll it into the build. Call (321) 401-6003 with an address or a parcel number.
New construction on Merritt Island is a land problem first. Lots are tighter, older, and more likely to already have a house on them. That is why build-on-your-lot and lot-trade matter more here than a model-row in a new subdivision.
The tax roll backs that up. About 82% of the island's houses were built before 2000.
If you work the Cape and you are tired of a 1970s roof and a 14-SEER rumor, start with a tour. We will be straight about whether your lot is a build or a trade.
If timing matters most, ask what is finished or underway in Brevard. Call (321) 401-6003 or use our contact page.
Bring the survey and we look at what the lot will hold before anything is drawn. How building on your lot works.
We may take your lot toward a build or a finished home. If we buy the lot for you, the minimum down payment still applies. Ways to buy.
Not many. Of the island's vacant residential parcels, only about 27% are company-owned. The rest aren't, so most belong to private owners, and on the island finding a lot usually means finding an owner.
Island lots that do get built on run large. For homes built since 2020, the median lot is 10,019 square feet in Palm Bay and 6,970 in Melbourne, not counting Viera and Suntree. The island's median, also in the numbers below, is bigger than both.
The county lot table compares the island with every other Brevard area. If you own an island lot you won't build on, we buy land directly from owners.
Merritt Island is low and flat. Before anything is drawn, we read the survey, which shows the lot lines and easements, and look the parcel up on the FEMA flood map.
If the lot sits in a mapped flood zone, ask the surveyor to show the ground elevations and the base flood elevation, the flood height the map sets for that spot. The elevation certificate comes later. It's done for the house itself.
When the floor has to sit higher than the ground, fill makes up the difference. A taller pad means a steeper driveway and more slope down to the yards next door. Fill can't push water onto the neighbors, so drainage gets planned with the pad.
Price flood insurance before you sign for a lot or a build. An agent can quote it from the flood zone, the elevations and the house you have in mind.
Since January 1, 2024, any new septic system in the Indian River Lagoon Protection Program area has to be a nitrogen-reducing system, which the Florida Department of Environmental Protection calls ENR. Existing systems in that area have to connect to central sewer, if it's available, or upgrade by July 1, 2030.
Check the FDEP map for the exact parcel, then ask whether sewer reaches the street. If it does, the build plans a sewer connection. If not, the plan needs room for an ENR system and its drainfield, and that room comes out of the yard.
Source: Florida Department of Environmental Protection, ENR-OSTDS and HB 1379.
Merritt Island is unincorporated, so the building permit for a new house comes from Brevard County Planning and Development.
County zoning sets the setbacks, meaning how far the house has to stay from the front, side and rear lot lines. On an older island street, setbacks and lot width can set the size and shape of the house. Where the driveway meets the street decides whether a three-car garage or an RV bay can face it at all.
The Brevard County tax roll counts 15,967 single-family homes in Merritt Island, and the typical one was built in 1978. 622 have been built in 2020 or later, about 3.9% of the total, with 140 finished in 2025. 398 parcels with a street address on the roll are classed as vacant residential land. Homes built in 2020 or later sit on a median lot of 12,632 square feet, about 0.29 acres.
Source: Florida Department of Revenue, Brevard County 2026 preliminary tax roll.
Split plan, the biggest patio in the lineup.
Four bedrooms and the only three-full-bath plan.
Defined living spaces with room to gather and a three-car garage.
Owner's suite plus an RV / boat bay.
High ceilings, tight plan, inventory-friendly.
Largest plan. 49-foot RV garage.
High ceilings, three-car option, build or inventory.
If you already own an old house on a lot you like, weigh four things before you keep it, replace it or buy an empty lot instead.
Roof, windows, wiring, plumbing, slab. A house that needs most of those is a different project from one that needs a kitchen.
In the lagoon program area, keeping the house can still mean a sewer hookup or a septic upgrade by the 2030 deadline.
Ask the county how its flood rules treat a remodel that size before you price the work.
If the house comes down, setbacks, width and driveway access decide what can be built in its place.
If the house is sound and you like the street, a remodel may be the better move. Gibraltar does remodels too, from kitchens and baths to additions, patios and porches.
Salt air, wind and humidity work on every house out here. These come standard in a Gibraltar home, and our team confirms the specs for the home you pick.
The impact rating depends on the home, so ask us for the rating on the home you choose.
The garage door is usually the biggest opening on the house. Ours are steel-reinforced and come with the opener, and we confirm the rating for each home.
Sealed return ducts bring air back to the system from the rooms, so it circulates through the whole house.
They help carry roof runoff away from the house and into the lot's drainage.
The island runs north to south, with the Indian River on the west and the Banana River on the east. Its ZIPs are 32952, 32953 and 32954, and its old settlements include Courtenay and Georgiana.
Kennedy Space Center sits at the north end, and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Port Canaveral are just east across the Banana River, so a Cape job is a short drive from home. SR 520 runs west over the Indian River to Cocoa and I-95, then on toward Orlando.
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge covers much of the north end, and Kiwanis Island Park is here too. Merritt Island High and Edgewood Jr/Sr High are both on the island. Zones change, so check any address with Brevard Public Schools.
The lot comes first, if you don't own one yet. Then elevation and fill, which follow the flood zone. Septic or sewer is next, since one lot needs an ENR system and another just a sewer connection. The plan sets the size, and a bigger garage means a bigger slab. Finishes come last.
For current pricing on a specific lot, call (321) 401-6003 or send the address through our contact page.
Address or parcel number, the survey if you have one, the flood zone, and where you are with financing. Add the size, bedrooms and garage you need. If you know whether sewer reaches the street, tell us that too.
We go through what you sent before anything is drawn.
From there the house follows our 13 construction stages, with photo updates as it goes.
Yes. Send the address or parcel number, the survey, the flood zone and where you are with financing, and we review the site before anything is drawn.
Some. The Merritt Island numbers on this page show how many vacant residential parcels the tax roll still counts. Whether a given lot is buildable comes down to its survey, flood zone, setbacks and sewer or septic, so each one gets checked on its own.
It does if the lot is in the Indian River Lagoon Protection Program area and sewer isn't available. Since January 1, 2024, new septic systems in that area have to be nitrogen-reducing (ENR) systems, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. If sewer reaches the lot, the question becomes a sewer connection instead.
Brevard County. Merritt Island is unincorporated, so permits come from Brevard County Planning and Development, and the county zoning on the lot sets the setbacks.
Share the property address or your preferred area. We can help you explore a new build, a lot trade, or an available home.