Cypress Bay Preserve, the honest version.
Three hundred ninety-five D.R. Horton homes delivered 2021 to 2023, and a real, consequential mix-up to avoid: a same-builder neighbor called Cypress Bay West carries its own CDD assessment that does not belong to this community.
Not Cypress Bay West, and that matters.
Cypress Bay Preserve is a D.R. Horton community in Palm Bay, homes delivered mostly across 2021 to 2023 in two recorded phases, and it appears sold out now, the builder's own site shows no active listings here. The name-collision risk on this one is worth taking seriously, not just noting: D.R. Horton has built at least three similarly named Palm Bay communities, plain "Cypress Bay," this one, and Cypress Bay West. Cypress Bay West carries its own homeowners association and its own community development district, established by Palm Bay Ordinance 2022-14, which means a real annual CDD assessment on top of HOA dues. I found no CDD covering Cypress Bay Preserve itself, this community reads as HOA-governed only. Confusing the two is not a cosmetic mistake, it is the kind of error that puts the wrong assessment figure on a page under a Florida real estate license.
What 395 homes look like on paper.
I keep the full Brevard property roll on hand, every parcel, not a listing-site sample. This is all of Cypress Bay Preserve as the county appraiser sees it, across 2 recorded plats. On a community this new, the appraiser's assessed value often lags or reflects land-only pricing on recently finished homes, so I am using the recorded sale price, not assessed value, as the authoritative number below.
Source: Brevard County Property Appraiser public roll, mid-2026. Sale medians are recorded sale prices, not appraiser market value.
Three Cypress Bay Preserve realities to price in.
Three similarly named D.R. Horton communities sit near each other, with different fee structures
Plain "Cypress Bay," this Cypress Bay Preserve, and Cypress Bay West are three separate communities. Cypress Bay West carries a CDD assessment this community does not. Before you accept any fee figure for "Cypress Bay" anything in Palm Bay, confirm which specific community it names.
Two sources on the HOA fee, off by more than three times each other
One aggregator cites roughly $70 a month, another cites $235 to $265 a month for the same community. That is too wide a spread to be a rounding difference, one or both is likely wrong or describing a different phase or community. Get the real figure from the HOA management company or a specific listing's disclosure rather than either online number.
A high "absentee" rate here is probably a build-out artifact, not a rental story
Roughly a third of homes read as absentee-owned on a community delivered just two to three years ago, which usually means unsold, builder-owned lots at the time of the county's snapshot rather than a real concentration of investor-owned rentals. I have seen this exact pattern on other very new Palm Bay communities, though I could not independently confirm the explanation for this specific one. Don't assume this is a rental-heavy neighborhood without checking current occupancy directly.
Three things I could not source.
Three things I would rather show you the gap on than fill with a builder's inventory-era snapshot.
The exact HOA fee
As above, two sources disagree by more than three times each other. Confirm directly before you budget around either figure.
Whether the current absentee rate reflects real investor ownership as the community matures
The build-out explanation above is my best inference, not a confirmed fact. As unsold builder inventory finishes selling, this number should shift, worth rechecking on a fresh roll pull if you are evaluating this community in the future.
Your school zoning and flood zone
Both assigned by address, not by subdivision, and both get redrawn. Verify the exact address with Brevard Public Schools, and pull the flood zone at FEMA's Map Service Center. My flood zone guide walks through what it means for your insurance bill.
If it is new construction you are shopping.
St Johns Preserve runs a similar recently-built, multi-builder Palm Bay story worth comparing. The Palm Bay guide covers the wider market.
Questions people actually ask.
Is Cypress Bay Preserve the same as Cypress Bay West?
No, and confusing them carries real financial risk. Cypress Bay West is a separate D.R. Horton Palm Bay community with its own homeowners association and its own community development district, established by Palm Bay Ordinance 2022-14, which carries its own CDD assessment on top of HOA dues. Cypress Bay Preserve, this community, appears to be HOA-governed only, I found no CDD covering it. A third, plain "Cypress Bay" also exists nearby. Confirm which specific community a fee or assessment applies to before you budget around it.
What is the Cypress Bay Preserve HOA fee?
I could not verify a figure from a primary source. Aggregator sites disagree sharply, one cites roughly $70 a month, another cites $235 to $265 a month for the same community, a spread too wide to trust either number. Get the actual figure from the HOA management company or a specific listing's disclosure.
Why does the county roll show a high absentee rate for such a new community?
The roll shows roughly a third of homes here as absentee-owned, which sounds like a rental-heavy community but likely is not. A brand-new subdivision recorded mid-build-out often shows unsold, builder-owned lots as "absentee" simply because the builder's mailing address differs from the property address, not because investors bought up the neighborhood. I have seen this exact pattern on other very-new Palm Bay communities. I could not independently source a specific confirmation for this community, so treat it as a plausible explanation, not a confirmed fact.
Is Cypress Bay Preserve still selling new construction?
No, it appears sold out. D.R. Horton's own site shows no active listings for this community as of this research, consistent with the county roll's most recent build year of 2023.
Looking at a Cypress Bay Preserve listing? No pressure.
Tell me the address and I will confirm whether a CDD actually applies before you budget around a neighbor's assessment. No drip campaign, no calls.