Living in Astatula, FL: Who It Fits, and Who Should Look Elsewhere

Photo: Yakin669, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Astatula is a small town on the Harris Chain of Lakes, and in the last twelve months one new subdivision became half of its market. Tula Parc, a development of small new houses, accounted for about half of every home sold. That makes Astatula the place with the least expensive new houses of the three towns here, and also the smallest, the most expensive per square foot and by far the slowest to sell. A buyer who understands that trade can do well here; a buyer who does not will compare price tags and miss it.

A note on scope: home sales on this page are counted by the Astatula mailing address, zip 34705, which reaches a little beyond the town limits; the population, income and commute figures describe the town itself.

Who Astatula Fits, and Who It Doesn't

Strong fit: buyers who want a brand-new house at the lowest price of the three towns, as long as a smaller house suits them; buyers with time to negotiate, because new houses here typically took more than seven months to go under contract, which leaves room to ask a builder for something; buyers who want an older home with no association, which closed at about $272,000; and anyone who wants a quiet lake town.

Weaker fit: buyers who need space, because the new houses here were the smallest of the three towns, typically several hundred square feet smaller than new houses in Tavares or Howey; anyone shopping on value per square foot, since new construction here cost the most per square foot of the three; buyers who want shopping and restaurants in town, which means Tavares; and anyone who wants a choice of established neighborhoods, since half the market is one development.

Still deciding between towns? We pulled the closed sales around a $350,000 budget and put Astatula side by side with its neighbors: what $350,000 actually buys in each. Square footage, bedrooms, year built, and how many came with a pool.

Where Is Astatula, and What Makes It Different?

Astatula is a small town in central Lake County on the Harris Chain of Lakes, near Tavares and Howey-in-the-Hills, with its own police department. The mean commute is 29.5 minutes.

Astatula Housing Market Snapshot (2026)

Over the last twelve months 68 homes sold in Astatula at a median of $303,900. New construction was 26% of sales in the twelve months before and 59% in the last twelve, so the two medians describe different homes and no year-over-year change is quoted here. In September 2026, 5 homes closed at a median of $280,000 and the typical one went under contract in 105 days. One month is too small a sample to read a direction from, which is why the twelve-month figure leads here. There are 42 active residential listings as of October 23, 2026, with a median asking price of $335,400, or $220 per square foot.

Wondering whether it is a buyer's or seller's market around Astatula? We publish that answer for Lake County as a whole, from current MLS data: Is Lake County a buyer's or seller's market?

New Construction and Resale Are Not the Same Market

Every price figure quoted for Astatula mixes brand new homes with existing ones. Split apart, the last twelve months looked like this.

Read the resale row carefully. It rests on fewer than 50 sales in at least one of the two years. The median resale home sold in Astatula went from 1,296 square feet to 1,470, 13.4% larger, while the price per square foot moved -7.3%. That is too few to say whether the change is a price move or a change in which homes sold.

All three rows rest on fewer than 50 sales in at least one of the two years, so read those changes as noise rather than a trend.

Best Neighborhoods in Astatula, FL: Communities to Know

Astatula is Tula Parc, a few lakeside streets and the land around them.

• Tula Parc, the new subdivision that made up about half of all sales, small new houses of about 1,200 square feet that typically closed in the low $300,000s, though the typical one took about eight months to go under contract
• Stillwater Cove, a handful of large new houses on lots of about half an acre at about $564,000
• The lakeside mobile-home streets, East Lake Harris Estates and the streets on the canals to the Harris Chain of Lakes, where older mobile homes typically closed at about $130,000
• The acreage, houses on larger rural lots around town, where an acre or more closed at about $540,000

Without Tula Parc, Astatula is a market of only a few dozen sales a year, so anyone shopping the older homes should expect to wait for the right one.

Communities in Astatula with their own page:

• Tula Parc
• Astatula Meadows
• East Lake Harris Estates
• Stillwater Cove
• Colina Del Lago
• La Casa Manor
• Rose Hollow
• Monroe Park
• Underhill Hammock

Astatula vs. Tavares vs. Howey-in-the-Hills: The Honest Comparison

Tavares is the county seat next door, with far more to choose from, bigger new houses and a downtown on Lake Dora. Howey-in-the-Hills is the other small lake town, with larger new houses at a lower price per square foot. Astatula is the town with the least expensive new houses of the three, which is mostly because they are the smallest.

Schools, Commute, and Day-to-Day Life

Lake County Schools serves the city, and assignment varies by address rather than by city name, so confirm the zoning for the specific property before you buy on a school reputation.

Mean travel time to work is 29.5 minutes, against 26.0 from Tavares.

Is Astatula, FL Safe?

Astatula's reported violent crime rate is 253.4 per 100,000 residents against 323.5 for Florida as a whole, about 22% below the state figure. That is a real difference. The same caveat applies in reverse though: rates are measured against resident population, so a town that few people commute into will tend to look better than a comparable one that they do.

Figures are reported offenses from the FBI Crime Data Explorer for the Astatula Police Department (ORI FL0351400), 2022, the most recent year that agency reported in a usable form. Reporting years differ between agencies, so this is compared to the Florida rate for the same year and is not comparable to another town's page.

Cost of Living in Astatula, FL

Housing is the line that moves a Central Florida budget. Astatula's median asking price is $335,400 against a median household income of $64,542, which puts a home at about 5.20 times household income here. That ratio, rather than the sticker price, is the number worth carrying between towns, and it is why a cheaper town is not automatically a more affordable one.

Florida charges no state income tax, so the property tax line matters more here than it would elsewhere, and a homestead exemption reduces the taxable value of a primary residence. Millage varies by taxing district, so treat any single quoted rate as an estimate until the specific parcel is checked.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Astatula, FL a good place to live?

Start with the numbers. Against the 60 places this site tracks across Orange, Seminole, Lake and Volusia counties, with that group's middle last measured on October 9, 2026, the median asking price of $335,400 is lower than most and the mean commute of 29.5 minutes is near the middle. The median household income here is $64,542, which puts housing at 5.20 times income, close to the middle of those places. On local incomes, buying here is about as hard as it is across the group. Who it fits, and who it does not, is laid out at the top of this page.

What is the median home price in Astatula, FL?

The median sale price was $280,000 in September 2026 across 5 closed sales. Over the last twelve months 68 homes sold at a median of $303,900. New construction was 26% of sales in the twelve months before and 59% in the last twelve, so the two medians describe different homes and no year-over-year change is quoted here. The median asking price across 42 active listings is $335,400, or $220 per square foot.

Is Astatula cheaper than Tavares?

On the asking median, about the same: $335,400 against $329,949. Measured against household income, Astatula is at 5.20 times income and Tavares at 5.72, so on that basis Astatula is the more affordable of the two. See what $350,000 buys in each town.

Is Astatula, FL safe?

The reported violent crime rate runs about 22% below the Florida average, though city rates are measured against resident population while the offense count includes everyone passing through.

What is the cost of living in Astatula, FL?

Housing is the deciding line. A median asking price of $335,400 against a median household income of $64,542 puts a home at roughly 5.20 times income, and Florida charges no state income tax, which shifts weight onto the property tax line.

What school district serves Astatula, FL?

Lake County Schools. Assignment varies by address within the city, so confirm the zoning for the specific property.

Thinking About a Move to Astatula?

I work these four counties every week and I will tell you when a town is wrong for you. If you want the numbers for your budget before you tour anything, start with what $350,000 buys across Astatula and its neighbors, or call me at 407-616-9019.

You can also browse homes for sale in Astatula, which updates with current inventory.