Journal · November 2, 2026
Two of every three houses in Brevard went up before Florida had one statewide building code. That matters more to the new-or-resale question than any listing photo.
The Florida Department of Revenue's 2026 preliminary tax roll counts 215,220 single-family homes in Brevard County. 144,068 of them, 67.2% of the homes with a known build year, went up in 2001 or earlier. Florida's first statewide building code took effect on March 1, 2002, according to the Florida Building Commission's 2004 report to the Legislature. Before that, each local government enforced a model code it had picked, and most of them amended it.
The typical house in the county was built in 1990. 59.6% were built in 1996 or earlier, so they are at least 30 years old. Only 23,406, about 10.9%, were built in 2020 or later.
Where you shop changes the odds a lot.
| Area | Homes built before 2002 | Typical year built |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Harbour Beach | 93.0% | 1978 |
| Indialantic | 91.6% | 1970 |
| Cocoa Beach | 90.1% | 1963 |
| Satellite Beach | 87.2% | 1973 |
| Merritt Island | 85.3% | 1978 |
| Melbourne | 82.2% | 1984 |
| Cocoa | 80.7% | 1980 |
| Titusville | 79.3% | 1981 |
| Port St. John | 78.3% | 1990 |
| Rockledge | 65.4% | 1991 |
| Palm Bay | 51.3% | 2000 |
| Viera | 37.1% | 2005 |
| West Melbourne | 34.5% | 2004 |
| Brevard County | 67.2% | 1990 |
Source: Florida Department of Revenue, Brevard County 2026 preliminary tax roll, single-family homes with a known year built. "Typical" is the median. Melbourne leaves out ZIP 32940 (Viera and Suntree), Cocoa leaves out ZIP 32927 (counted as Port St. John), and Viera is ZIP 32940 outside the Suntree subdivisions plus the Viera subdivisions in ZIP 32955, which Rockledge leaves out.
Start with the roof, because Florida law draws a line at 15 years. Under section 627.7011(5) of the Florida Statutes, an insurer can't refuse to issue or renew a homeowner's policy just because the roof is less than 15 years old. Once a roof is 15 or older, the insurer has to let you have it inspected, at your own expense, before it can require a new roof as a condition of the policy. If that inspection shows at least five years of useful life left, the insurer can't refuse the policy on roof age alone.
On a 1990 house the question isn't whether the roof has been replaced. It's when, and whether a permit says so.
Then look at the openings. Section 627.0629(1) says a residential property insurer's rate filing has to include discounts, credits or deductible reductions for construction that cuts windstorm losses, and the list in the law names opening protection, window and door strength, and roof-to-wall strength. Since October 1, 2023, insurers have had to describe their hurricane mitigation discounts on their websites. What a particular house earns depends on the insurer and on what an inspection finds.
None of this promises you a policy or a premium. It tells you what to ask before you write an offer. Plenty of older houses have had a new roof, impact windows or shutters added since they were built. The listing should say so, and the permits should back it up.
On the barrier island the choice mostly makes itself. 93% of the houses in Indian Harbour Beach predate 2002, and the tax roll shows three vacant residential lots with a street address in the whole city. Satellite Beach has 90 and Cocoa Beach 84. If you want to live there, you are most likely buying a resale.
Merritt Island is close behind, with 85.3% of its houses built before 2002 and a typical build year of 1978. The roll lists 398 vacant lots with an address there. Our Merritt Island page covers what building there involves.
Melbourne sits in between. 82.2% of its houses are older than the statewide code, but it still has 764 empty lots with an address scattered through the city, so a new house there usually starts with finding the lot. Our Melbourne page breaks the lots down by ZIP code.
Go south and inland and it flips. About half of Palm Bay's houses were built in 2002 or later, and the typical one dates from 2000. Viera's typical house is from 2005 and West Melbourne's from 2004. That is where most of the county's new construction is, and where you can put a ten-year-old resale next to a brand-new house on the same kind of street. If Palm Bay is on your list, start with our Palm Bay page.
We build new houses, so read this part knowing that. Some buyers should still buy the older house.
If the street matters more than the house, a resale may be the only way in. A walk to the river, family two doors down, a neighborhood you grew up in: when there are no open lots, there is nothing to build on. Older neighborhoods also have shade trees that took decades to grow. And a resale is standing today. You can see the exact house, the yard and the neighbors before you sign anything.
A plan on a lot means waiting on a permit and a build, and a new street can look bare for a while. Those are real costs too.
Ask when the whole roof was last replaced and for the permit. Look the address up on the Brevard County Property Appraiser site for the year built, then check the permit history with the city or county building department that covers it.
Find out what protects the openings: impact-rated glass, shutters, or nothing. Ask for the paperwork, and ask your insurance agent which inspection they want to see on that house.
Hire your own inspector on a resale. You can bring one to a new Gibraltar house too. Tell our team ahead of time so production can be there and act on what the inspector finds.
On a resale, ask whether any warranty transfers to you. On new construction, ask what it covers, when it starts, and who you call. Get the answers in writing either way.
Here is what you would be comparing a resale against. Impact-rated windows and exterior doors are standard on our homes, and they go in at stage 4 of the build, along with the roof. Every one of our seven plans carries a 10-year structural warranty, and the warranty starts the day you close. Our contact sticker is inside the cabinet above the microwave and on the electrical panel, so the number is there when something needs fixing. The full list of what ships in the house is on The Gibraltar Difference.
There are two ways in. A finished inventory home is the closest thing to a resale: it is already standing, the finishes are picked, and you can walk it this week. Or you choose a plan and we build it on your lot or one you buy. If you sign before framing is finished, you can walk the frame at stage 3 before the walls close. Either way, you blue-tape the finished house at stage 12 and we log every item. All 13 stages are on How We Build, and the steps from first tour to keys are on the home buying process.
Comparing a specific resale? Call (321) 401-6003 and ask what is standing this week.
Sources: Florida Department of Revenue, Brevard County 2026 preliminary tax roll (NAL), counted November 2, 2026. Florida Building Commission, 2004 report to the Legislature. Florida Statutes (2026), s. 627.7011 and s. 627.0629.
Have a resale in mind? Bring the address. We'll show you what is standing this week and walk you through what comes standard.