John Lawrence Newsletter May 2026
May is an awesome month to take advantage of our local beaches before the larger summer crowds come to visit! We have so many great public beaches with various qualities to enjoy. If you prefer a more peaceful vibe or enjoy people watching in a more active environment, St. Johns County definitely offers something for everyone!
From surfing to biking to fishing to wildlife viewing to dining, there are all kinds of activities available for a great day … sunrise to sunset! Please plan on visiting a beach that you haven’t ever been to before and check out what a great time you can have enjoying the coastline of St. Johns County Florida!
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St Johns County Beaches
Here are some of the great beaches in St. Johns County, Florida for you to put your toes in the sand!!
Crescent Beach / Butler Beach – St. Augustine https://www.floridashistoriccoast.com/beaches/butler-beach/
I will admit I am prejudice here, as this is my go to choice that is closest to my home. But you will agree this is a gorgeous beach that locals love because it is wide, has convenient parking, and isn’t as congested as many beaches tend to be. Because it is in the southern end of Florida’s Historic Coast, it maintains an “old Florida” vibe as a quieter beach with white sand and located in a mostly residential area. And, in a throwback to Florida’s age gone by, there is vehicle-driving permitted on the beach (although there are fees and passes required between March 1 and September 30).
St. Augustine Beach – St. Augustine https://www.floridashistoriccoast.com/beaches/st-augustine-beach/
St. Augustine Beach is a more tourist driven location that has everything you need for the ideal beach vacation – seaside restaurants, a beachfront park with a fishing pier, a large beachside pavilion, a Summer Concert Series, and sand volleyball courts. There is also a weekly Farmers Market held at the pier parking lot.
Vilano Beach – St. Augustine https://www.floridashistoriccoast.com/beaches/vilano-beach/
Vilano Beach has a very cool vibe with easy access with many lodging and dining opportunities. On the Intracoastal side, there is a fishing pier and a great place to watch the sunset over the Vilano Bridge.
Anastasia State Park – St. Augustine https://www.floridashistoriccoast.com/beaches/anastasia-state-park/
If you are looking for laid back experience without commercialism, Anastasia State Park features four miles of white quartz sand beaches and is one of Florida’s most popular parks. The park’s protected wildlife area and trail systems attract birders, bicyclists, fishermen, and surfers. The sunrise from the park can be excellent.
Guana River South Beach Access – Ponte Vedra Beach https://www.floridashistoriccoast.com/beaches/anastasia-state-park/
Known for a great spot to search for Shark’s teeth, Guana River South Beach offers a beautiful mix of pristine beaches, trails, and preserved wetlands/estuaries. The Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTMNERR) protects 73,000 acres of Florida’s northeast coast, stretching from Ponte Vedra Beach to Palm Coast. The Reserve is divided geographically into a Northern Component in St. Johns County and a Southern Component, which is primarily in Flagler County.
Mickler’s Landing – Ponte Vedra Beach https://www.floridashistoriccoast.com/beaches/micklers-landing/
Mickler’s Landing (pronounced “mike-lers”) is just two blocks east of A1A. The first public beach in Ponte Vedra, Mickler’s remains a local favorite, famous for its pink, coquina-sand stretches of beach. This is also a great spot to hunt for Shark’s teeth.
May Area Events
May 2 – St. Augustine Brewers’ Fest 2026 @ Fountain of Youth – (St. Augustine)
May 6-9 – St. Augustine Food + Wine Festival – (St. Augustine)
May 8-17 – 17th Annual Wild Amelia Nature Festival – (Amelia Island)
May 9 – Railroad Day Festival & 60th Anniversary Celebration – (Green Cove Springs)
May 15-16 – Wolfson Children’s Hospital Bass Tournament – (Palatka)
May 16 – Journey @ VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena – (Jacksonville)
May 16 – Ironman Jacksonville – (Jacksonville)
May 22-24 – Palatka Blue Crab Festival @ Downtown Riverfront – (Palatka)
May 21-24 – Jacksonville Jazz Festival – (Jacksonville)
County / Neighborhood Updates
If you haven’t been to Nassau County recently, the expression, “My, how things have changed”, comes to mind. The I-95 Interchange at SR 200, is the new “Diverging Diamond” design that really moves traffic efficiently. If you remember SR 200 being a sleepy roadway on the way to Yulee, now it is filled with lots of new retail development all the way to Amelia Island!
Wildlight
Wildlight is the largest master planned residential community in the county and is being developed by the real estate arm of Rayonier called Raydient Places + Properties. I am a Wildlight Certified Agent and have access to all the current news about this master planned community. The Town District is where you’ll find the vibrant Village Center, with its eateries, offices, shops and services including UF Health, the Wildlight YMCA, multiple parks and Wildlight Elementary. And with miles of Wildlight Trailways connecting it all, everything’s an easy walk or bike ride from home. The new section called the Garden District will include 5 planned neighborhoods, 4,100+ homes with the first models planned to open in the Summer of 2026. There will be 2,800+ acres of Florida nature, 19+ miles of trails and 484 acres of planned parks. The Green Ribbon is the plan for a linear park and trail – fully 13 miles long – that will eventually stretch along the bluffs above the St. Marys River.
Tributary
Tributary is a 1,550 acre master planned community to the west of I-95 on SR 200. Tributary’s amenities include the lakefront Lookout Amenity Center and nature trails to the adjacent Tributary Regional Park and future river-access points. The trail system connects all the neighborhoods and will soon lead to the trailheads of neighboring Four Creeks State Forest. Residents can also enjoy the resort-style pool, work out at the fitness center, take their dogs to the Pawsome Dog Park or participate in planned social activities at the Amenity Center. David Weekley Homes is offering six different floor plans and has The Brasher and The Cartesian as model homes. Lennar Homes has the Princeton II and Sierra II Bonus plans available as well as the Lakeview 55+ neighborhood.
Headwaters at Lofton Creek
Taylor Morrison is the developer of Headwaters at Lofton Creek featuring 80′ wide lots and six different floor plans. Tucked away on nearly 200 acres, this community will offer amenities like a pool, cabana, event lawn, dog park, playground and walking trails.
John’s Viewpoint
I enjoyed showing properties to customers in some areas outside of NE Florida in April including Ormond Beach in Volusia County as well as the Orlando area. I am a member of the Flagler County Board of Realtors that is part of StellarMLS, which consists of over 20 real estate boards and counties throughout Central and SW Florida. It is always nice to use this resource to help my customers!
I have a customer who is relocating to the Orlando area due to a new job and we toured homes in the Winter Garden and Windermere area west of Orlando. This is a beautiful area with highly ranked school systems and that local market is currently very strong! We had several homes go under contract right before we were able to tour the properties. We did make an offer on a home but another offer was received just after ours. After discussions with the buyers, we decided to add an escalation addendum to our offer. I have used this addendum successfully in the past, and it worked out great this time. The other offer was higher than our initial contract amount, but our escalation clause won the acceptance by a slight amount. Also, I had a lengthy conversation with the listing agent the night before, and developed a good relationship with him.
Escalation Addendum: “An escalation addendum (or clause) is a real estate contract provision allowing a buyer to automatically increase their offer price by a set increment over competing bona fide offers, up to a maximum cap. It is designed to secure a property in competitive, multi-offer situations without overpaying, ensuring the buyer beats competitors by a specific amount.”
After we went under contract, the experienced listing agent said he appreciated the attention to detail in presenting and explaining our offer and said I was what he called in the Navy as “AJ SQUARED AWAY”. I had never heard this term before and had to look it up.
“AJ Squared Away” is a military slang term, particularly used in the US Navy, to describe a sailor who is perfectly organized, professional, and sharp in appearance (e.g., perfect uniform, haircut, and shave). The phrase implies being fully prepared, efficient, and having all personal or professional matters in order.
This example proves that the real estate market is HYPER LOCAL. One area may be a strong buyer’s market and another a seller’s market. Also, it definitely helps to have an experienced Realtor who understands all the buyer and seller tools available (including addendums). Also, as we gravitate toward a more virtual world, picking up the phone and talking with other real estate agents is still important. And being professional and paying attention to all the small details is never a bad thing in any vocation!Thanks for reading and please let me know if you ever have any questions or concerns!
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