Melbourne, FL Home Loans

Space Launch Delta 45 is based at Patrick and runs the Eastern Range, the stretch of Atlantic coast used for launches from Cape Canaveral; it reports to Space Systems Command. The base’s home page counts 109 space launch operations in 2025. More than 74 mission partners and tenant units work at the two installations, including the 920th Rescue Wing of the Air Force Reserve and NASA.

Who can drive in depends on the gate. Patrick has a Visitor Control Center for guests, but Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is restricted to personnel with a Common Access Card, and dependent and retiree ID cards do not qualify. Service members with at least 90 continuous days of active-duty service meet VA’s minimum for a VA home loan, and Guard and Reserve members have their own paths. Debbie Haberny, who leads our team, is a Vetted VA Professional, so a service member picking a home near Patrick or the Cape can take VA loan questions to the people who will arrange the loan.

Melbourne

Melbourne had 84,678 people in the 2020 Census and 8,139 veterans in the 2020-2024 estimates, with a median owner-occupied home value of $306,400 and 59.7 percent of homes owner-occupied. City Hall is at 900 East Strawbridge Avenue, and the Melbourne Vet Center is at 2098 Sarno Road. Without traffic it is about 23 minutes to Patrick’s South Gate and 28 to the East Gate, and past 45 minutes to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The city’s flood page links to FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center, elevation certificates and a page on changing a flood zone designation.

Viera

Viera East CDP counted 11,687 people and Viera West CDP 16,688 in the 2020 Census, with median owner-occupied home values of $396,700 and $546,600. The Viera VA Clinic is at 2900 Veterans Way, and the county government center and a Veteran Services office are also in Viera. Viera East has its own community development district, created by Brevard County ordinance. Without traffic it is about 19 minutes to Patrick’s South Gate, 24 to the East Gate and 36 to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Palm Bay

Palm Bay had 119,760 people in the 2020 Census, more than Melbourne’s 84,678, with a median owner-occupied home value of $283,200 and 79.7 percent of homes owner-occupied. The Palm Bay VA Clinic is at 5200 Babcock Street Northeast, and the county has a Veteran Services office at Palm Bay City Hall. Patrick’s 45th Security Forces Squadron holds field training at the Malabar Annex in Palm Bay and posts noise notices for neighbors ahead of time. Without traffic it is about 34 minutes to Patrick’s South Gate and 39 to the East Gate, and it measures past 45 to the Cape.

Rockledge

Rockledge had 27,678 people in the 2020 Census, with a median owner-occupied home value of $338,100 and 78.0 percent of homes owner-occupied. City Hall is at 1600 Huntington Lane. It sits about evenly between the two installations: about 26 minutes without traffic to Patrick’s East Gate and about 26 to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Cocoa Beach

Cocoa Beach had 11,354 people in the 2020 Census and a median owner-occupied home value of $503,200. City Hall is at 2 S. Orlando Avenue, and the base’s FAQ names the stretch of SR A1A in Cocoa Beach as a place to watch launches. It is the closest area in this table to Patrick’s East Gate, about 9 minutes without traffic, and about 19 minutes from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Merritt Island

Merritt Island, a Census-designated place, had 34,518 people in 2020 and a median owner-occupied home value of $402,900. NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is on Merritt Island, and the island sits in Brevard’s evacuation Zone A. Brevard County Veteran Services has an office at 2575 N. Courtenay Parkway. It is the shortest drive to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in this table, about 11 minutes without traffic, and about 29 minutes to Patrick’s East Gate.

Census figures give a snapshot, not a price quote. The median value of an owner-occupied home in the 2020-2024 estimates was $339,600 in Brevard County, $306,400 in Melbourne, $246,100 in Cocoa and $502,500 in Satellite Beach. Across the county, 76.7 percent of homes are owner-occupied, while in Melbourne it is 59.7 percent, so renting is common in Melbourne.

Brevard grew from 543,376 people in 2010 to 606,612 in the 2020 Census. Prices move, so ask our team or your real estate agent what homes are selling for in the neighborhood you like.

Schools. Brevard Public Schools serves the whole county, with 100 schools and 71,675 students. Florida named it a Purple Star School District for 2024 through 2027, one of five districts in the first group, and the district counted 91 Purple Star schools when it announced the honor. A Purple Star Campus must name a military liaison, keep a web page for military families, run a student-led transition program, train staff and reserve at least 5 percent of controlled open enrollment seats for military students. In March 2026 Space Launch Delta 45 and the district renewed a 10-year agreement covering records transfers and registration with PCS orders. The base’s school liaison office is at (321) 494-1991, and Florida law carries the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. Check school assignment by address before you write an offer.

Gates. Patrick’s East Gate is open 24 hours and its South Gate 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., and since February 28, 2026 every visitor needs a base pass because Trusted Traveler is suspended. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Visitor Control Center is at 401 Samuel C Phillips Parkway.

Commute and Traffic. Typical drive without traffic, measured October 7, 2026 (OpenStreetMap routing): Satellite Beach is about 6 minutes from Patrick’s South Gate and 12 from the East Gate, Cocoa Beach 9 from the East Gate, Viera 19 and 24, Melbourne 23 and 28, and Palm Bay 34 and 39. To Cape Canaveral Space Force Station it is about 11 minutes from Merritt Island, 19 from Cocoa Beach, 21 from Cocoa, 26 from Rockledge, 36 from Viera and 38 from Satellite Beach, while Melbourne and Palm Bay measure past 45. Real commutes run longer: Port Canaveral leaders say congestion is most noticeable where SR 528 meets SR 401, and FDOT lists resurfacing on SR 528 in Merritt Island and SR A1A in Cape Canaveral, with construction funded for early 2027 and subject to change.

Brevard’s Tax Collector lists fixed non-ad valorem charges that appear on the same bill as property tax, among them stormwater fees in Melbourne, Satellite Beach and Cocoa, fire service charges in Cocoa and Palm Bay, and community development district assessments. Median gross rent in the 2020-2024 estimates was $1,556 in the county, $1,525 in Melbourne, $1,909 in Satellite Beach and $1,274 in Cocoa.

Your Basic Allowance for Housing turns on rank, dependent status and duty station; the official lookup is on DoD’s site. Allowance figures stay off this page because they change every year; once you have yours, we can walk through what fits in each part of Brevard.

Florida’s homestead exemption lowers the taxable value of your primary residence, and the application is due by March 1. Veterans have more: a veteran with a service-connected total and permanent disability is exempt from property tax on a homestead, a veteran age 65 or older with a combat-related disability gets a discount equal to the disability percentage, and a Florida resident with a service-connected disability of at least 10 percent may qualify for a $5,000 exemption. Brevard County Veteran Services offices in Viera, Merritt Island and Palm Bay help with VA claims.

County Loan Limits. With full entitlement, VA sets no cap on the loan; we still approve the amount based on your income, credit and the appraisal. A county limit comes into play only with partial entitlement, such as when part of it is tied up in an earlier VA loan. For 2026, FHFA’s one-unit limit in Brevard County is $832,750, the national baseline. The figure resets every year, so confirm it before you buy.

Flood and Wind Insurance. Brevard’s emergency management office calls flooding the county’s most frequent hazard and says a standard homeowners policy does not cover flooding and may not cover wind-driven rain. A home in a FEMA high-risk flood area with a home loan backed by the federal government must carry flood insurance, and a new policy typically takes 30 days to start, with exceptions that include coverage a federally backed loan requires. The county’s storm surge map is not the same as FEMA’s flood maps or its evacuation zones, and Zone A covers the barrier islands, Merritt Island and some low-lying mainland areas. For wind, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, for example, requires a four-point inspection for homes over 20 years old and extra proof on older roofs, and a wind mitigation inspection can document features that earn discounts. Ask your real estate agent for the flood zone, roof age and insurance quotes before you make an offer.

Special Districts and Associations. Some newer Brevard neighborhoods sit in a community development district, a special local government that bills an annual assessment on the tax bill on top of county and other taxes. The Tax Collector’s list names 14, including Viera East CDD and Viera Stewardship CDD. Florida law requires the contract for a first sale in a district to carry a bold notice that the district may levy taxes or assessments. Ask for the district’s budget and your lot’s assessment early, and ask about homeowners association dues too, since both count toward your monthly budget; we will show how they fit when we pre-approve you.

Patrick’s Newcomer’s Information page links to housing, lodging, the school liaison, the Military and Family Readiness Center and personal property. Active-duty members who show their orders to the center can get a certificate for up to 20 hours of child care per child within 60 days of a PCS arrival or departure, paid by the Air Force Aid Society, and a CareerSource Brevard counselor keeps an office there for active-duty spouses. For a house-hunting trip, the base lists on-base lodging at the Space Coast Inn. Florida also lets a health care practitioner licensed in another state who is the spouse of an active-duty member apply for a Florida license with the fees waived.

Hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30. Before you tour homes, ask us for a pre-approval and your VA Certificate of Eligibility, and ask your real estate agent about the flood zone and insurance on every address you like.

Patrick has privatized family housing. Hunt Military Communities manages Patrick Family Housing, which describes more than 600 homes and says it serves active-duty members, retirees and Department of Defense employees. The base’s housing page shows floor plans for three communities: Oceanside, Pelican Coast and River’s Edge. For Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, ask the Military and Family Readiness Center what housing is available.

Off base, the choices run from beachside homes on the barrier island to newer mainland subdivisions, and the sections above sort them by gate and drive.