Neighborhood Buyer Series

Cedar Hills Estates, Jacksonville: The Most Affordable Way Into a First Home

Published by Bryce Spraggins on November 11, 2026

To buy in Cedar Hills Estates in Jacksonville 32210, expect a monthly payment between $1,723 and $2,312 with taxes and insurance included, a down payment between $6,300 and $8,746 on an FHA loan at 3.5% down, and a household income between roughly $45,900 and $61,700 with no other monthly debt. Every one of those income figures sits below the Duval County median household income of $71,277. Nine homes were for sale between $180,000 and $249,900, and the median home sold in the last twelve months at $230,000. Figures are modelled at 6.95% on the Duval millage of 17.86 against a realMLS pull taken November 11, 2026.

Bryce Spraggins reads the real numbers on Cedar Hills Estates in Jacksonville 32210, where every home on the market qualifies on a household income below the county median.

What This Video Covers

This is the third episode of the neighborhood buyer series. Each one takes a single neighborhood, pulls the real MLS data, and puts the four numbers a buyer actually needs on the screen: what is for sale, what it costs a month, what you have to earn, and what credit score gets you in.

The number that makes this neighborhood different

The entry home here needs about $45,900 a year to qualify. The most expensive one needs about $61,700. The typical Duval County household earns $71,277.

So every single home on the market in Cedar Hills Estates qualifies on a below-median income. That is unusual, and it did not hold in either of the first two neighborhoods in this series. San Jose Manor reached the median household. Lake Asbury could not be reached at all without equity from a previous sale. Here the whole range clears it, top to bottom. Add a $550 car payment and the entry figure moves to about $60,600, which still clears. Add a car, a student loan and a credit card at $1,150 a month and it is about $76,600, which finally does not.

What is actually for sale

Nine single-family homes are available, from $180,000 to $249,900, with four more already under contract. The median home that closed in the last twelve months sold for $230,000, at about $156 a square foot. It is a 1950s neighborhood, with a median year built of 1958, and no CDD bond on a single one of the 100 records in this pull. Almost none of them carry an HOA.

The market here favours a buyer, and the data says so three different ways. Closings slowed by about a third, from roughly 2.2 a month in the prior six months to 1.5 a month in the last six. Six of the nine homes for sale have already cut their asking price, one of them by $64,999. And 42 of the 100 listing attempts in this pull died, cancelled, expired or withdrawn, without ever selling.

That last figure is the one worth sitting with. Nearly half of everything that tried to sell here failed. On the scattergram below, almost every one of those grey crosses sits above the fair value line, while the homes currently for sale sit on or below it. The ones still on the market have corrected. The ones that died never did. Priced right, homes here move.

What it costs a month

On an FHA loan at 3.5% down and 6.95%, with taxes and insurance included, payments run from $1,723 on the $180,000 home to $2,312 at $249,900.

Those taxes are modelled on the purchase price, not on the seller’s bill. Florida resets a property’s assessment to market value when it changes hands, so a long-held homesteaded owner’s tax figure on the MLS sheet can understate what a new buyer pays several times over.

What you need to close, and who pays it

The down payment itself is $6,300 to $8,746. But Florida closing costs and prepaid items add roughly another 2 to 5 percent of the price on top, so true cash to close lands around $10,000 to $21,000.

Here is what makes that manageable in this particular neighborhood. 13 of the 21 closings in the last twelve months carried a seller concession, at a median of $7,980 and a maximum of $12,000. That median credit is larger than the down payment on six of the nine homes currently for sale.

⚠️ A seller credit still cannot pay your down payment. It can only go toward closing costs, prepaid items, discount points and the upfront mortgage insurance premium, and the FHA minimum investment has to come from you or an approved gift. What it does is wipe out the other cash at the table, which is the larger and less expected number. The down payment is yours to bring. The seller is frequently covering nearly everything else.

The down payment does not have to come from your checking account either. A 401(k), stocks or a documented gift are all allowed sources.

⚠️ One per-listing check: two of the nine homes do not accept FHA financing by their listing terms. Nothing here is near the FHA loan ceiling, so this is a listing-by-listing issue rather than a price issue.

Credit score

580 is the real FHA floor at 3.5% down, and between 500 and 579 the program requires 10% down instead. Most lenders overlay above that and want 620 or better, so ask before you count yourself out. FHA is genuinely used here: 6 of the 21 closings in the last twelve months were FHA loans.

About the house in the video

The $200,000 home shown is 3748 Frye Avenue, and it is Bryce’s own listing. Three bedrooms, two baths, 1,289 square feet, built in 1958, on about a quarter acre. It carries a new mini split system, a recent roof and updated kitchen and baths. It was listed in September at $225,000 and has since been reduced to $200,000. At that price it takes about $7,000 down and $1,892 a month, and it accepts FHA financing.

Every figure on this page comes from one realMLS export pulled November 11, 2026, covering 100 single-family records in Cedar Hills Estates, Jacksonville 32210. These are generalities for a neighborhood, not an approval for a person. Every deal is its own puzzle.

Every home on the market qualifies on a household income below the Duval County median of $71,277
Nine homes for sale from $180,000 to $249,900, with a median sold price of $230,000
Monthly payments of $1,723 to $2,312 on FHA at 3.5% down, taxes and insurance included
Down payment of $6,300 to $8,746, and why true cash to close is closer to $10,000 to $21,000
A median seller credit of $7,980 on 62% of closings, larger than the down payment on six of the nine homes
Why 42 of 100 listing attempts died, six of nine have already cut, and closings slowed by a third
No CDD on a single record, almost no HOA, and a 1958 median year built

The Actual Cedar Hills Estates Numbers

Grouped bar chart of household income needed to buy in Cedar Hills Estates under three debt scenarios, from $45,900 to $92,300, against a typical Duval County household income of $71,277 — **The household income each price actually requires.** Three debt loads per home at a 45% debt-to-income ratio. The dashed line is the typical Duval County household at **$71,277 a year**. Every blue bar, meaning every home with no other monthly debt, sits to the left of it. That is the whole argument for this neighborhood in one picture, and it did not hold in either of the first two episodes. (Click to enlarge.)

Scattergram of Cedar Hills Estates homes plotting price against heated square feet, showing 9 homes for sale from $180,000 to $249,900, 21 recent sales, 40 listings that never sold, and a fair value line with a normal range band — **What homes ask versus what they sell for.** Every single-family home in Cedar Hills Estates plotted by heated square feet against price: the nine for sale, the 21 that closed in the last twelve months, and the **40 plotted here that never sold at all** (42 died in total). Almost every grey cross sits *above* the fair value line while the homes still for sale sit on or below it. The ones still listed have corrected their price. The ones that died never did. (Click to enlarge.)

Stacked bar chart of monthly payments for nine Cedar Hills Estates homes from $1,723 to $2,312 broken into loan payment, property tax, insurance and mortgage insurance, beside a chart of down payments by loan type from $0 on VA to $9,000 on conventional 5% down — **The payment broken into its real parts, and the cash to get in.** On the left, every available home with the loan payment, property tax, insurance and mortgage insurance stacked separately. Taxes are figured at the Duval rate on the *new purchase price* with homestead, not the seller’s old bill. On the right, the down payment on the cheapest home under four loan types, with the dashed line marking the typical seller credit on recent sales. ⚠️ That credit pays closing costs, never the down payment. (Click to enlarge.)

Common Questions

What income do you need to buy a house in Cedar Hills Estates, Jacksonville?

With no other monthly debt, a household needs roughly $45,900 a year for the entry home at $180,000 and about $61,700 for the most expensive at $249,900. Both figures sit below the Duval County median household income of $71,277, so every home on the market there is reachable on a below-median income. A $550 car payment raises the entry figure to about $60,600, and a car plus a student loan plus a credit card raises it to about $76,600. Modelled on an FHA loan at 6.95% with 3.5% down, at a 45% debt-to-income ratio, with taxes and insurance included.

How much are homes in Cedar Hills Estates?

As of November 11, 2026, nine single-family homes were for sale in Cedar Hills Estates between $180,000 and $249,900, with four more already under contract. The median home that closed in the previous twelve months sold for $230,000, at about $156 a square foot. Six of the nine homes listed had already reduced their asking price, one by $64,999.

How much do you need for a down payment in Cedar Hills Estates?

On an FHA loan at 3.5% down, between $6,300 and $8,746. A VA loan requires nothing down, and conventional loans run 3% or 5%. True cash to close is larger than the down payment alone, because Florida closing costs and prepaid items add roughly 2 to 5 percent of the price on top, which puts the real figure closer to $10,000 to $21,000.

Can the seller pay my down payment?

No. A seller credit can only be applied to closing costs, prepaid items such as taxes and insurance, discount points and the upfront mortgage insurance premium. The FHA minimum required investment of 3.5% must come from the borrower or an approved gift source. In Cedar Hills Estates, 13 of the 21 closings in the twelve months to November 2026 carried a seller concession, with a median of $7,980 and a maximum of $12,000, which covers most or all of those other closing costs.

Does Cedar Hills Estates have a CDD or HOA fees?

There was no CDD bond on a single one of the 100 single-family records in the November 2026 MLS pull, and almost none carried an HOA fee. The only association fees in the data belonged to a separate condominium project that shares part of the subdivision name. Duval County's combined millage is 17.86 mills, and property tax should always be modelled from the purchase price rather than from the seller's current bill.

What credit score do you need to buy in Jacksonville with an FHA loan?

The FHA program floor is 580 for 3.5% down, and between 500 and 579 the program requires 10% down instead. Most individual lenders apply their own overlay above that minimum and want 620 or higher, so the practical answer depends on the lender rather than on FHA. A larger down payment is a separate lever that lowers the monthly payment regardless of score.

Related Resources

Buying in San Jose Manor Buying in Lake Asbury What Is My Current House Worth? Jacksonville ← Back to Learn Center