Fellsmere, Florida Real Estate and Housing Guide

The Fellsmere housing and home values guide is the deep guide in this section, and the table below matches each common Fellsmere property question to its key fact and the office or guide that answers it.

The Fellsmere housing and home values guide goes deeper into the Census figures: the spread of home values, rent brackets, owner costs, home age and how long households have stayed. This hub covers the questions a Fellsmere buyer, renter or owner brings to an office: the headline numbers, how land use and zoning work in the city, who issues permits, how to check flood risk and how the county homestead exemption works. Digital Towns names no listings, agents or brokerages; every figure comes from a government source.

The median Fellsmere owner-occupied home is valued at $175,400 and the median gross rent is $1,158 a month in the Census Bureau's ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, both below the Indian River County medians.

On value, the Fellsmere estimate carries a margin of error of plus or minus $26,725 (ACS B25077, Fellsmere city), while the Indian River County median is $351,500, roughly double (ACS B25077, Indian River County).

On rent, the Fellsmere median of $1,158 has a margin of error of plus or minus $233 (ACS B25064, Fellsmere city), against $1,357 for the county (ACS B25064, Indian River County). Cheaper is not the same as affordable: 52.2 percent of Fellsmere occupied units paying rent (where the share can be computed) spend 35 percent or more of household income on gross rent (ACS DP04, Fellsmere city), above the 48.8 percent share in Indian River County (ACS DP04, Indian River County).

Fellsmere has 1,445 housing units, most of them single-family houses, with mobile homes making up 22.9 percent of the stock, about three times the Indian River County share.

In the Fellsmere housing profile, 63.3 percent of units are single-unit detached houses, 1,258 units are occupied and 12.9 percent stand vacant (ACS DP04, Fellsmere city). Across Indian River County, mobile homes are 7.3 percent of units and the vacancy rate is 18.1 percent (ACS DP04, Indian River County).

Owners hold most Fellsmere homes. Of the occupied units, 931, or 74.0 percent, are owner-occupied and 327, or 26.0 percent, are rented (ACS DP04, Fellsmere city); the county owner share is 80.1 percent (ACS DP04, Indian River County).

Rental homes have their own city item: the Community Development page links Residential Rental Registration, and the department describes its services as Business Tax Receipts, Code Enforcement, Building Permitting and Planning & Zoning (City of Fellsmere Community Development).

Every Fellsmere property has a future land use designation in the city Comprehensive Plan and a zoning district on the city Zoning Map, and changing either takes public hearings before the City Council.

The future land use sets the general type of development a Fellsmere parcel may hold, and the zoning district, read with the Land Development Code, sets the specific allowances (City of Fellsmere Comprehensive Planning & Zoning). A future land use map amendment, the most common plan change requested by owners, needs two City Council public hearings and one hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission/Local Planning Agency, and takes about six months, including review and comment by the State of Florida. A Zoning Map amendment needs the same set of hearings and takes about three months; the two can run together.

The city posts its maps in pieces: a Future Land Use Map for the entire city, one for the CR512 interchange, one for the historic city center, and a Zoning Map of the entire city (City of Fellsmere Comprehensive Planning & Zoning). The CR 512 interchange area therefore has its own Future Land Use Map sheet in addition to the citywide map. Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the City of Fellsmere website.

The City of Fellsmere Building Division issues building permits and performs inspections, and the city Floodplain Administrator answers flood zone questions for any Fellsmere address.

The Fellsmere Building Division reviews plans, issues permits and inspects work on single-family homes, commercial buildings, fences, driveways, pools, storage sheds, land clearing, tree removal, additions, repairs and remodels; forms go to [email protected], and the office keeps hours of 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday, or by appointment (City of Fellsmere Building Division). The Community Development page also flags a new policy, Identification Required for Building Permits (City of Fellsmere Community Development), and the city's flood information page places the Community Development Department at 22 S. Orange Street (City of Fellsmere Flood Information Services).

The department staff list gives the Permit Clerk at 772-646-6319, the Community Development Director at 772-646-6322 and the Code Enforcement Officer at 772-646-6314 (City of Fellsmere Building Division).

The city provides flood information by address. Given a property address, the city can read the Flood Insurance Rate Map, give the Base Flood Elevation, and share information on local flooding not shown on the FIRM; it also keeps elevation certificates for buildings in the Special Flood Hazard Area (City of Fellsmere Flood Information Services). On request, the Floodplain Administrator and the Public Works Superintendent will visit a Fellsmere property to review a flood problem and explain possible ways to stop flooding or prevent flood damage, a free service; the Public Works Superintendent's number is (772) 646-6316. Because the city takes part in FEMA's Community Rating System, NFIP flood insurance is available for any property in Fellsmere. Federal law requires a flood zone determination as a condition of a federally backed grant or loan; the city can determine whether a property is in the Special Flood Hazard Area, but the lender decides whether flood insurance is required. The Floodplain Administrator's number is (772) 646-6315; the FIRM paragraph of the same page prints it as 772-64-6315, so the two listings on the page do not match.

Fellsmere homeowners apply for the Florida homestead exemption through the Indian River County Property Appraiser, a county office, by March 1 of the year the exemption is wanted.

The county's homestead handout says an owner may apply at any time during the year, but the deadline is March 1, and the home must have been occupied on or before New Year's Day (Indian River County Property Appraiser, DR-501). The same handout headlines the ,000 Homestead Exemption and quotes Florida Statute 196.031: an owner with legal or equitable title who resides on the property on January 1 and in good faith makes it a permanent home is eligible. Once homestead is granted, the 3% cap rule, also known as Amendment 10, applies: after the first year at full market value, any change from the prior year's assessed value of a homesteaded Fellsmere home can be no more than 3 percent or the change in the Florida Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower (Indian River County Property Appraiser, 3 percent cap rule).

The Property Appraiser's main office is at 1800 27th Street, Vero Beach, (772) 226-1469, and its Sebastian branch is at 1921 US Hwy 1, (772) 226-1133, both open Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (Indian River County Property Appraiser).