Montverde is a small lakeside town that happens to contain one of Central Florida's most expensive gated communities, and in the sales data the community has become the town. Half of all homes sold in the Montverde zip in the last twelve months were inside Bella Collina, where a house typically closed at about $2.3 million. That is why Montverde's new construction now costs more per square foot than Windermere's. The other half of Montverde is a different market entirely, from new subdivision houses in the $600,000s to manufactured homes under $200,000, a few miles from the gates.
A note on scope: home sales on this page cover the whole Montverde zip, 34756, including the Bella Collina homes the MLS files under 'Bella Collina' rather than Montverde; the population, income and commute figures describe the Town of Montverde itself.
Who Montverde Fits, and Who It Doesn't
Strong fit: luxury buyers who want a guard-gated golf and lake community near Orlando, which is what Bella Collina is, with a Sir Nick Faldo course and a 75,000 square foot clubhouse; families drawn to Montverde Academy, the private pre-K through 12th grade school just north of Bella Collina; buyers who want a newer house on a regular lot without Bella Collina's price, since Willow Ridge's mostly new houses closed at about $650,000 and sold in under a month; and condo buyers who want a Bella Collina address on Lake Siena for far less, since the Siena condos closed at about $420,000.
Weaker fit: anyone shopping on value per square foot, because new construction here closed at about $432 a square foot against about $303 in Windermere and $230 in Clermont; buyers who need a quick sale, since new homes here typically took more than four months to go under contract; buyers who expect golf to come with the house, since Bella Collina's course requires a club membership; and anyone who wants a large market with a lot of choice outside one community, which means Clermont.
Still deciding between towns? We pulled the closed sales around a $875,000 budget and put Montverde side by side with its neighbors: what $875,000 actually buys in each. Square footage, bedrooms, year built, and how many came with a pool.
Where Is Montverde, and What Makes It Different?
Montverde is a small town in south Lake County on the western shore of Lake Apopka, north of Clermont and east of Minneola, with County Road 455 running through it. Bella Collina's gates are on the south side of town, and Montverde Academy is just north of them. The mean commute is 29.2 minutes.
Montverde Housing Market Snapshot (2026)
Over the last twelve months 168 homes sold in Montverde at a median of $917,400. New construction was 53% of sales in the twelve months before and 31% in the last twelve, so the two medians describe different homes and no year-over-year change is quoted here. In August 2026, 11 homes closed at a median of $925,000 and the typical one went under contract in 16 days. One month is too small a sample to read a direction from, which is why the twelve-month figure leads here. There are 96 active residential listings as of October 9, 2026, with a median asking price of $1,428,150, or $454 per square foot.
Wondering whether it is a buyer's or seller's market around Montverde? 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 Montverde mixes brand new homes with existing ones. Split apart, the last twelve months looked like this.
| What sold | Median, prior 12 months | Median, last 12 months | Change | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New construction | $1,050,000 | $1,555,000 | +48.1% | 52 |
| Existing homes (resale) | $585,000 | $735,500 | +25.7% | 116 |
| All sales combined | $825,000 | $917,400 | +11.2% | 168 |
Read the resale row carefully. It is mostly reporting a change in which homes sold rather than a change in what they cost. The median resale home sold in Montverde went from 2,266 square feet to 2,774, 22.4% larger, while the price per square foot moved +4.0%. A different mix of homes sold, so the price per square foot is the honest comparison and the median is not.
Those two rows moved the same way, but they are not describing comparable homes. New construction here sells for about 2.1 times what an existing home does, so the combined figure sits in a gap between two markets and summarises neither.
Best Neighborhoods in Montverde, FL: Communities to Know
Montverde is Bella Collina, and then everything else.
- Bella Collina, the 1,900-acre guard-gated golf community on Lake Apopka and its own spring-fed Lake Siena, on the south side of town, where houses closed at about $2.3 million: the main estate sections at about $2.6 million to $3 million and Bella Collina West at about $1.4 million. About half of the houses sold were new
- Siena at Bella Collina, the condominiums on Lake Siena inside Bella Collina, most of them waterfront, at about $420,000
- Willow Ridge, the new subdivision on the west side of town: 17 sales, nearly all new, at about $650,000 for about 2,900 square feet, and quick to sell, in under a month
- The town and the manufactured-home streets, the older streets around the town center north of Bella Collina, including Montverde Hills and the Montverde mobile home subdivision, where manufactured homes closed at about $160,000 to $205,000
- The acreage estates, Trails of Montverde and Vinola Gardens on the west side, on two to five acres, at about $930,000 to $1.2 million
Outside Bella Collina, the typical house closed at about $680,000, which is the number to carry for anyone shopping Montverde outside the gates.
The 15 communities in Montverde where the most homes have sold over the last twelve months, each with its own page:
- Willow Ridge
- Bella Collina
- Montverde Hills
- Trails of Montverde
- Colina Bay
- Magnolia Terrace
- Vinola Gardens
- Alpine Terrace
- Franklin Pond
- Harbar Oaks
- Lake Florence Shores
- Montverde Div
- Montverde Mobile Home Subdivision
- Montverde Woods
- Morningside Park
Another 10 Montverde communities have their own page too. You can also browse every Montverde listing in one place.
Montverde vs. Clermont vs. Windermere: The Honest Comparison
| Montverde | Clermont | Windermere | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median asking price | $1,428,150 | $467,990 | $1,100,000 |
| Median $/sq ft | $454 | $227 | $348 |
| Mean commute | 29.2 minutes | 32.6 minutes | 30.9 minutes |
| Median household income | $103,250 | $79,789 | $156,042 |
| Population | 1,780 | 44,984 | 3,034 |
Windermere is the established luxury town in west Orange County, with far more lakefront and a much higher price on the water, but its new houses now cost less per square foot than Montverde's. Clermont is the large city to the southwest, with far more to choose from at less than half Montverde's typical price. Montverde is the small town where half the market is one gated golf community, with the newest and most expensive new construction of the three.
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 29.2 minutes, against 32.6 from Clermont.
How Much of Montverde Is New Construction?
Montverde has no municipal police agency reporting usable figures to the FBI, so there is no honest city-level crime comparison to publish here, and a number that cannot be sourced is worse than none. What can be measured is the age and type of what is for sale, which is the other question relocation buyers ask.
Across 96 active residential listings, the median asking price is $1,428,150, or $454 per square foot. Where a town is still building, the per square foot figure runs closer to replacement cost; where it is built out, it reflects land and location instead.
Cost of Living in Montverde, FL
Housing is the line that moves a Central Florida budget. Montverde's median asking price is $1,428,150 against a median household income of $103,250, which puts a home at about 13.83 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 Montverde, FL a good place to live?
It depends on whether your income comes with you. Against the 60 places this site tracks across Orange, Seminole, Lake and Volusia counties, the median asking price of $1,428,150 is higher than most and the mean commute of 29.2 minutes is near the middle. The median household income here is $103,250, which puts housing at 13.83 times income, a heavier load than in most of those places. For remote workers and retirees who bring their income with them, that matters less. For someone earning a local wage, it is one of the harder places in the group to buy. Who it fits, and who it does not, is laid out at the top of this page.
What is the median home price in Montverde, FL?
The median sale price was $925,000 in August 2026 across 11 closed sales. Over the last twelve months 168 homes sold at a median of $917,400. New construction was 53% of sales in the twelve months before and 31% 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 96 active listings is $1,428,150, or $454 per square foot.
Is Montverde cheaper than Clermont?
On the asking median, no: $1,428,150 against $467,990. Measured against household income, Montverde is at 13.83 times income and Clermont at 5.87, so on that basis Clermont is the more affordable of the two. See what $875,000 buys in each town.
What is the cost of living in Montverde, FL?
Housing is the deciding line. A median asking price of $1,428,150 against a median household income of $103,250 puts a home at roughly 13.83 times income, and Florida charges no state income tax, which shifts weight onto the property tax line.
What school district serves Montverde, FL?
Lake County Schools. Assignment varies by address within the city, so confirm the zoning for the specific property.
Thinking About a Move to Montverde?
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 $875,000 buys across Montverde and its neighbors, or call me at 407-616-9019.
You can also browse homes for sale in Montverde, which updates with current inventory.
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