Close to Home
October 22, 2026

I enjoy those conversations. There’s always something to learn, and sometimes someone I know can help with what another person needs.

That’s why I’m starting Close to Home. Every other week, I’ll bring together a few things worth knowing about living and owning a home in Palm Coast and Flagler County: a local housing-market snapshot, news, development updates and practical resources, with the facts and links in one place. Whether you’re thinking about buying, considering a sale or simply keeping up with the place you call home, I want this to be useful to you.

In this first issue, we’ll start with what the latest local listing numbers tell us. From there, we’ll look at the cost of owning a home through this month’s utility changes, then catch up on housing and commercial plans around us.

What’s happening in our housing market?

You don’t have to be ready to move to wonder what’s happening with homes around you. September’s Flagler County listing figures give us a starting point: asking prices were lower than a year ago, but there were also fewer active listings.

September 2026	Compared with September 2025
Median asking price$400,273	Down 4.5%
Active listings1,301	Down 13.8%
Median days on market78 days	Down 20.1%

The source also reports a 23.34% price-reduced share for September. Price adjustments are part of this market, but a lower asking price alone doesn’t tell us whether a particular home is good value.

Asking prices were lower, while listings spent less time on the market than a year earlier. The countywide median also changes with the mix of homes listed; it does not mean every home lost 4.5% of its value.

If you’re looking to buy, use this as background for a closer look at the neighborhood and price range you’re considering. Compare similar homes and recent closed sales with your agent. For an owner watching the market, those same nearby comparisons are more useful than applying a countywide percentage to your own house.

Source: Realtor.com Economic Research, September 2026 county inventory data, checked October 22. These are Flagler County residential listings, including new construction, not Palm Coast-only figures or closed-sale prices. Year-over-year changes are rounded.

Explore the market data and definitions

What changed on your utility bill?

If your Palm Coast utility bill looks higher this month, the rates are part of the reason. New rates took effect October 1 for water, wastewater, stormwater and garbage collection.

On your bill	October change
Water & wastewater	Rates up 5.1%
Stormwater, per ERU*	$36.16 → $38.33/month
Residential garbage	$34.37/month

*ERU means Equivalent Residential Unit, the city’s stormwater billing unit.

Because these charges share one bill, a 5.1% water and wastewater increase does not mean your entire bill rose by 5.1%. These are Palm Coast’s rates; other providers in Flagler County have their own schedules.

The city says the adjustments follow existing rate plans and its garbage-service agreement, supporting operations, maintenance and infrastructure planning.

Put your previous bill beside the new one. Compare the gallons used, the billing period and each charge. That gives you a better starting point than comparing only the total.

Read the city’s rate announcementAsk Palm Coast Customer Service about your bill

What’s taking shape nearby?

Alongside the costs of owning a home, I’ll be following the plans for what gets built around us. A project name alone doesn’t tell us much. Where is it, how many lots are proposed, and what still needs review? These two city applications give us a place to start.

Sawmill Branch, Phase 6

The residential master-plan application lists 243 lots on the west side of US-1, approximately 3,500 feet north of Matanzas Woods Parkway. The city currently lists the application as pending.

That tells us what is proposed and where it sits in the review process. It does not establish when those homes will be built or available to buy.

See the Sawmill Branch application

Seminole Trace, Phase 2

A preliminary plat application lists 30 lots and identifies the property as part of Grand Landings Phase 5. Its status is resubmit, meaning revisions are needed before the application moves forward.

This is a subdivision-plan review, not an announcement that 30 finished homes have arrived on the market.

See the Seminole Trace application

Source: City of Palm Coast development records, checked October 22, 2026. These are ongoing applications, not necessarily new submissions this week.

On SR 100: a new Walmart gets site-plan approval

New homes are only part of the growth around us. Commercial projects also change where we shop and how we get around. One to follow is Flagler Landings, on the south side of State Road 100, about half a mile west of Seminole Woods Boulevard.

On September 1, Palm Coast City Council approved a site plan for a 186,276-square-foot Walmart on the 38.81-acre property, along with shared parking and infrastructure.

There’s a useful distinction here: the additional retail building, fuel station and outparcels discussed in earlier plans were not included in this approval. They require separate applications.

For nearby residents, traffic is part of the story too. The council also approved a transportation agreement addressing the development’s impact on SR 100. The September approval gives us a concrete step to report, but it does not give us an opening date.

Read the Observer’s report on the approval

Source: Palm Coast Observer, September 7, 2026. This is a September decision, included here as background for our first issue.