Setting the Record Straight – “Real Estate Matters” February 28, 2026 Video Podcast

For more than 11 years, Real Estate Matters has been the voice of real estate in Palm Coast and Flagler County, Florida. Veranda Bay, the new luxury Intracoastal Community in Flagler Beach, sponsors the show.

Arguments against uncontrolled growth (or any growth at all), along with accusations of greed, collusion, and bribes, have dominated social media and public comments at public meetings for months. The cacophony is getting worse, not better. The vitriol is palpable and seldom accompanied by the truth.

Be sure to check out the new Flagler County Map of Developments and Subdivisions.

Raw Show Notes

Our behind-the-scenes guide to the show’s flow, including topics we didn’t have time to get to on the show. This is raw and likely contains typos. Data reflects the date of the show’s recording.

Show Notes 2-28-2026

Recorded 2-26-2026

This is Real Estate Matters, for over 11 years, the voice of real estate in Flagler County and Palm Coast. Welcome to the quiet side of Florida. And Happy New Year.

I’m Toby Tobin, the publisher of GoToby.com, and a Florida-licensed Realtor with Grand Living Realty. Co-host Annamaria Long from the Flagler Homebuilders Association is home with a sick child today but she is on the phone.

Thanks to Our Sponsors:

• Our Lead Sponsor is Veranda Bay – A private developing community of lots and luxury homes on the Intracoastal Waterway in Flagler Beach, featuring custom homes by Olsen Homes, AR Homes by Arthur Rutenberg, ICI Homes, and Hulbert Homes. Newly opened sections feature homes by Toll Brothers and Dream Finders. To learn more, visit VerandaBay.com.
• Flagler County Home Builders Association
• Hammock Community Church – On A1A in The Hammock – Small enough to know you but large enough to serve you. North of the toll bridge with the message sign out front. It’s not just for Hammockians. Like me, many people cross the bridge.

Guest: None

February stats –

Month to Date – we will be getting more sales reports for a few more days

169 SFR homes sold – at a median price of $365,000. DOM is 72. Last February, 186 SFR homes were sold at a median price of $364,990.

18 homes have been sold for $250K or less, 7 for cash and DOM of 17

5 homes have been sold for $1M+ with DOM = 24. Three were cash sales.

1,238 homes are listed with MLS vs 1,292 a year ago. DOM=76    

356 homes are pending vs 273 last year. DOM=58

Today’s topic:

Growth and impact fees

Arguments against uncontrolled growth (or any growth at all), along with accusations of greed, collusion, and bribes, have dominated social media and public comments at public meetings for months. The cacophony is getting worse, not better. The vitriol is palpable and seldom accompanied by the truth.

People shout in person and online that they want Palm Coast to remain like it was when they moved here. To them, I say, “I know just how you feel. I felt the same way before you moved here.” When you looked into the mirror this morning, did you see the same person who moved here ten years ago? Or has something changed?

A developer is someone who wants to build houses on the beach. A conservationist is someone who already owns a house on the beach.

To the tree huggers, I ask them to drive west over the Hammock Dunes toll bridge and, from the top of the bridge, notice the absence of large acres of land clearcut for development. Instead, they will see a lack of tall buildings and miles of dense tree canopy under which 112,000  people live in over 50,000 homes.

I’ve lived here for 26 years. Yes, things have changed.

• Roberts Road was extended from the Sea Ray plant to SR100
• SR100 was 4-laned from Old Kings Road to Bunnell
• Belle Terre was 4-laned and rerouted
• Palm Coast Pkwy was 6-laned from Florida Park Drive to Belle Terre
• Interstate 95 was 3-laned in each direction through the entire county
• Matanzas Woods was extended over I-95 to Old Kings Road, and an I-95 interchange was added
• Northern Old Kings Road was paved
• Several new schools, parks, trails, and fire stations were added
• Dining and shopping options are more numerous

At the February 17 Palm Coast City Council meeting, Council member Pontieri appeared frustrated by the recurring diatribes during public comment about the council’s ability to control growth. She pointed out that the present council had not approved any new residential rooftops, and that the current pipeline was approved long ago.

She also stated that she had worked hard to limit growth by meeting with staff to deny projects, preventing them from proceeding to the council. Is that legal? (Check out the meeting video starting at 1.50)

Interestingly, at the same meeting, Pontieri also announced that she was returning 5 campaign donations from developers.

Setting the record straight

Developers do not pay fees and taxes. They may remit them, but in the end, the new homeowner pays. And so do you. You paid more for your house, even if it was an existing home, than you would have before impact fees were imposed.

Impact fees make all housing less affordable. By increasing the cost of a home, they increase the down payment, the amount of the mortgage and insurance, cumulative interest, and property taxes in perpetuity.

Developers of new communities pay for the construction of all infrastructure: roads, utilities (usually buried), amenities, sidewalks, street lights, and stormwater management systems.

Homeowners in planned communities will pay in perpetuity for the ongoing maintenance of that infrastructure except for water and sewer utilities. Municipalities cannot ignore the revenue opportunities presented by utility fees.

Developers pay Palm Coast approximately $8,400 of “Contribution In Aid of Construction” (CIAC) in water and sewer fees before a single shovel of dirt is moved. (from a recent example) It might be years before the first toilet flush in the new development. (120 new development homes equals $1 million dollars tied up for years before the last home is built.

New development homeowners not only pay for their own infrastructure through HOA fees but also for the rest of the city’s infrastructure maintenance.

I have never heard of an impact fee consultant who was hired because they have a history of recommending fee reductions.

Palm Coast’s ageing water and sewer pipes were configured to serve 225,000 residents. They are failing, in part due to deferred maintenance and because they are all the same age. Plus, there are only half as many planned residents to pay the piper (pun intended). We need new developments with new residents to spread the ongoing costs.

Wrap up:

Video podcasts of Real Estate Matters are available on GoToby.com. Click on Podcasts on the top navigation bar. Show notes are included so you can see what we didn’t get to on the show. Also on GoToby.com – the Flagler County Interactive map of residential developments and subdivisions, updated regularly.

If you have a question or a suggestion for Real Estate Matters or GoToby.com, reach out to me.

(386) 931-7124 or email me at Toby@GoToby.com

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