Palm Bay and Brevard County land

Sell your vacant lot in Palm Bay, even if you have never seen it.

Quarter-acre lots in Port Malabar, parcels in the Compound, inherited land and lots behind on Brevard County taxes. We show you cash, owner financing and a 1% listing side by side, in writing.

See my options Call (305) 914-4191

Tens of thousands of Palm Bay lots were platted and sold by mail, often for $10 down, to buyers in other states. If you own or inherited one, you are in the right place.

Prefer to text? Text (305) 914-4191 · Lea esta página en español

Single-story Florida home on a large open lot — Open Florida land around a single home

One lot or manySingle lots, groups of lots, rural acreage

Out-of-state ownersSigning arranged where you live

Licensed title companiesEvery closing goes through one

No cost to askNo obligation, no pressure

Palm Bay land

A lot bought by mail still deserves a real answer.

The Compound, southwest Palm Bay

About 5,000

Parcels, mostly quarter-acre lots, in Port Malabar Units 51, 52 and 53

2,755Different owners in the property records

Over 90%Of those parcels classified as vacant residential

Sources: City of Palm Bay · Regional Planning Council report

HOMKEYS buys vacant lots and land in Palm Bay and across Brevard County, for cash, on owner financing or through a 1% listing.

Palm Bay is the most populous city in Brevard and the largest by land area, with 119,760 residents in the 2020 census. Much of it was laid out as one huge grid of lots.

Two Palm Bay lots on one street can be worth very different amounts. City water and sewer, a paved road, the flood zone, wetlands, scrub-jay habitat, an old mobile home on the land or back taxes all move the price. We check the records first and tell you what each one does to the number.

Source: Palm Bay, Florida (Wikipedia)

From our Florida files

What we are working on elsewhere in Florida

Stucco home with a shade tree and arched entry in the Lake Wales area of Polk County — A home in the Lake Wales area, Polk County

This month we signed a contract to buy a vacant lot in the Lake Wales area, in Polk County. This fall we also made a subject-to purchase in Port Charlotte, another town General Development laid out. The sellers’ loan stayed in place, they got cash at closing, stopped making the payments and paid none of the closing costs.

Real HOMKEYS situations outside Brevard County. Names, addresses and prices left out to protect the sellers’ privacy.

Where Brevard land sits

Lots in Palm Bay and the rest of Brevard County

Port Malabar, the original grid

General Development bought about 41,000 acres here in 1959 and platted tens of thousands of quarter-acre lots. Many were sold by mail for $10 down to buyers who never had to visit.

Source 1 · Source 2

The Compound, Units 51 to 53

About 200 miles of aging roads and no water, sewer or power lines. In April 2025 the City Council accepted a plan aimed at a business park there. At a March 2023 city workshop, the average market value of a quarter-acre lot was put at about $2,000.

Source 1 · Source 2 · Source 3

Where new homes go up

From March 2024 to March 2026 the city issued 4,774 single-family permits, peaking at 283 in August 2024 and falling to 140 by December 2025. Southeast Palm Bay drew 35% of all permits. Builders usually want lots with city water and a paved road first.

Source

Port St. John, north Brevard

Another General Development community, between Titusville and Cocoa. It grew from 12,267 residents in 2010 to 23,474 in 2020. We buy lots there too.

Source 1 · Source 2

Grant-Valkaria, south of Palm Bay

A largely rural town between Palm Bay and Sebastian, incorporated in 2006, with 4,509 residents in 2020. Larger parcels here draw a different buyer than city lots.

Source

Near the lagoon and up north

Since 2018, Brevard has required advanced septic systems with 65% or more nitrogen removal on the barrier islands and within 197 feet of the Indian River Lagoon on the mainland. A court-ordered moratorium on new septic permits applies in the North Indian River Lagoon area.

Source

We also buy land in Melbourne, West Melbourne, Malabar, Micco, Cocoa, Titusville, Mims and unincorporated Brevard. Own land in another General Development town? See our Port Charlotte page, or our Polk County land page.

Three ways to sell

Cash, owner financing or a 1% listing for your Palm Bay lot

Option 1

Cash sale, as is

Best for: Owners who want the tax and stormwater bills to stop
Trade-off: Price reflects utilities, road, permits and resale time

Option 2

Owner financing

Best for: Paid-off lots, when you would rather collect monthly than take a lower cash price
How: You set the price, down payment, interest rate and term. We pay you monthly, secured by a mortgage on the land. If the land has a loan, we can also buy subject to it.

Option 3

1% listing

Best for: Lots with city water, a paved road and clean title, when you can wait
How: Listed on the MLS for a 1% listing fee through our licensed partner brokerage. Buyer agent pay is separate and negotiable.

More on the cash sale, the 1% listing, subject-to, comparing options and Florida land. Subject to qualification, property inspection, and transaction terms. HOMKEYS does not give legal or tax advice. Talk with a Florida attorney or tax professional about your situation.

Owner financing

Owner financing on a Palm Bay lot

Land loans usually carry higher rates and bigger down payments than home loans. When you finance the sale, you are the lender, which usually means a higher price than cash plus monthly income.

The buyer signs a note, and a mortgage on the lot is recorded in Brevard County. Florida charges 35 cents per $100 in stamp tax on the note and 2 mills of intangible tax on the mortgage. Who pays is negotiable. An agreement for deed is treated like a mortgage under section 697.01, so a default can still mean foreclosure. Have a Florida real estate attorney draft the papers.

Sources: SoFi · Fox Business · Stamp and intangible tax · Fla. Stat. 697.01

Estimate

What would owner financing on your lot pay you?

A rough illustration. Put in your own price and terms. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Sale price Down payment Interest rate (%) Term (years)

Amount you financeSale price minus the down payment

Monthly payment to youPrincipal and interest, equal payments over the term

Total you collectDown payment plus every monthly payment

Enter a price to compare

Illustration only, not an offer. It leaves out taxes, closing costs and the risk of a buyer default. Subject to qualification, property inspection, and transaction terms.

See my options

Palm Bay land knowledge

What Palm Bay lot owners run into

City water and sewer, or a well and septic

Not every street has city lines. Palm Bay Utilities decides availability, and lists about $4,348 to bring water and $5,770 to bring sewer to a standard 80-foot lot, fees subject to change. Without lines, Environmental Health decides on septic and well permits.

Source 1 · Source 2

Nitrogen-reducing septic

A January 2024 city report counted 27,780 septic systems in Palm Bay. Since January 1, 2024, a new septic system on a lot without sewer must be the enhanced, nitrogen-reducing kind. City policy also keeps drainfields 75 feet from wetlands.

Source 1 · Source 2 · Source 3

Scrub-jays, tortoises and indigo snakes

The city tells lot buyers to check with the FWC for scrub-jays, gopher tortoises and indigo snakes. In a 2005 federal case, the owner of a 0.23-acre Port Malabar lot offered $3,082 to a scrub-jay fund to build. Tortoise burrows need an FWC permit unless avoided by 25 feet.

Source 1 · Source 2 · Source 3

Flood zones and wetlands

Palm Bay requires a floodplain permit before a building permit on any lot in a flood zone other than X or X500. New flood maps for parts of the city took effect January 29, 2021. Filling wetlands takes a state Environmental Resource Permit, often from the St. Johns River Water Management District.

Source 1 · Source 2 · Source 3 · Source 4

Back taxes and tax deeds

Brevard taxes go delinquent April 1 with a 3% charge. Tax certificates are sold by June 1. At least two years later the holder can apply for a tax deed, and the Clerk sells it online. You can redeem until the winning bidder pays in full.

Source 1 · Source 2 · Source 3

Mowing and code cases

Palm Bay Code Compliance hires contractors to cut grass and brush over 24 inches on unimproved lots, an estimated 275 properties a year in its 2022 bid. Florida law allows code fines up to $250 a day for a first violation, and a recorded fine order becomes a lien.

Source 1 · Source 2

Stormwater fee and the road bond

The city bills vacant parcels a stormwater fee once a year, in January. In 2018 voters also approved up to $150 million in road bonds, repaid from property taxes. More than 418 miles of road work is done, and the last phase is not funded yet.

Source 1 · Source 2

Zoning, surveys and access

Check zoning before pricing a lot as a homesite. Palm Bay rewrote its land development code in September 2024. A boundary survey shows corners and easements. With no legal access, Florida’s way of necessity law, section 704.01, can open a route.

Source 1 · Source 2 · Source 3

Palm Bay land details

Offices and dates for Palm Bay land sellers

Confirm anything time-sensitive with the office listed.

Taxes go delinquentApril 1, with a 3% charge. Advertised if unpaid after April 30Source ↗

Tax deed salesOnline at brevard.realforeclose.com, run by the Brevard ClerkSource ↗

City water and sewerPalm Bay Utilities, (321) 952-3420Source ↗

Septic and well permitsFlorida Department of Health in Brevard, 321-633-2100Source ↗

Floodplain permitsAny zone other than X or X500. Palm Bay Land Development, (321) 953-8924 ext. 5322Source ↗

Protected wildlifeFWC office listed by the city, 321-383-5535Source ↗

How it works

Selling Palm Bay land from wherever you live

Send the parcel ID

It is on your Brevard tax bill and the Property Appraiser’s site, bcpao.us. Or send the unit, block and lot from your deed.

We check the records

Taxes, city water and sewer, flood zone, wildlife, code cases and stormwater bills.

We see the land

In person, or by Zoom or video call if you prefer.

Options in writing

Cash, owner financing and a 1% listing, with your net on each. Close at a licensed Florida title company in 7 to 90 days, with signing arranged where you live. On a cash sale, we pay the closing costs.

Real closings

HOMKEYS closings near Palm Bay

Each one closed at a licensed Florida title company. We show the city and month only, never the address, to protect the seller's privacy.

Vero BeachApril 202629 miles away Vero BeachOctober 202529 miles away

Fort PierceMarch 202543 miles away

St. CloudOctober 202545 miles away

OrlandoAugust 202660 miles away

OrlandoNovember 202460 miles away

28 closings in 23 Florida cities and 17 counties since September 2024. See them on the map.

Guides for sellers in Palm Bay

Short reads on the questions we hear most from owners here.

Selling from out of stateRead the guide Cash offer, listing or selling on termsRead the guide Selling a mobile home with landRead the guide

See all guides

Questions

What Palm Bay landowners ask us

Do you buy vacant lots in Palm Bay and Port Malabar?

Yes, and across Brevard County, from Port St. John to Grant-Valkaria. This month we signed a contract on a vacant lot in the Lake Wales area, in Polk County.

I have never seen my Palm Bay lot and I live out of state. Can I still sell it?

Yes. We see the land in person or by video call, send your options in writing, and close at a licensed Florida title company. We can arrange signing where you live through the title company.

My lot is in the Compound. Can I sell it?

Yes. The Compound has no water, sewer or power lines, and a city plan is not an offer to buy your lot. We price your lot on what is true today and explain each number.

How do I know if my lot has city water and sewer?

Palm Bay Utilities can tell you, at (321) 952-3420. Without lines, a home needs a well and a nitrogen-reducing septic system, permitted by the Florida Department of Health in Brevard.

My lot is behind on Brevard County taxes. Is it too late to sell?

Usually not. You can redeem until the winning bidder at a tax deed sale pays in full. If you sell first, the title company pays the back taxes from your proceeds at closing. If a tax deed application is already filed, call right away.

I got a mowing notice or a stormwater bill for my lot. What should I do?

Do not ignore it. Code cases can lead to fines, and a recorded fine order becomes a lien on the land. Open bills and liens are usually paid from your proceeds at closing.

Can I sell a lot with scrub-jays, gopher tortoises or wetlands on it?

Yes. Protected species and wetlands do not stop a sale, but they add permits and cost for a buyer who wants to build. We price the land with that in mind and explain how.

I inherited a lot in Palm Bay. Can I sell it?

Usually, once someone has legal authority to sign. In Brevard, an original will must be deposited with the Clerk within 10 days of learning of the death. Since July 1, 2026, estates of $150,000 or less may qualify for summary administration. A Florida probate attorney can tell you which path fits.

Probate sources: Brevard County Clerk · 2026 probate law change. See also our inherited property guide.

More help

Guides and areas for Brevard County landowners

Guides for your situation

Other Florida land and areas

Getting letters from other land buyers too? Read how to spot a bad buyer in Florida before you sign anything.

Ready to compare your three options? Start with the parcel.

About a minute. 4 short steps.

Who you will talk toDor Tzadok, CEO, and the HOMKEYS team

Dor oversees every offer and closing. We explain every number before you decide anything.

Find out what your Palm Bay lot could do for you.

Send the parcel ID or address. We will come back with your options in writing.

See my options Call (305) 914-4191 Text (305) 914-4191

Sources for this page

⌂ Equal Housing Opportunity

HOMKEYS LLC is committed to the letter and spirit of U.S. fair housing laws. We do business without regard to race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin. This page is general information about selling land in Palm Bay and Brevard County, Florida, not legal or tax advice.