Pros and Cons of Living in Ave Maria
Ave Maria's pros and cons trace back to its identity as a genuinely new, purpose-built town: real advantages in new construction and community identity, alongside real tradeoffs in a still-thin market and limited local commercial infrastructure.
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Learn morePro: genuinely new housing stock and a walkable, master-planned town center
Ave Maria's housing stock is almost entirely new construction, built around a walkable town center anchored by the Ave Maria Oratory, with a strong family/faith-community identity and, distinctively, a real dedicated retirement option in Del Webb Naples (see housing and retiring) -- an unusual dual identity for a planned Florida town.
Pro: a real university anchor with a low and declining campus-crime trend
Ave Maria University enrolls roughly 1,250-1,335 undergraduates and has posted a declining on-campus crime trend in recent years (see healthcare-safety) -- a genuine, sourced advantage for families and students alike.
Con: a still-thin, immature resale market
List and sale prices diverge meaningfully in Ave Maria's housing data (see housing) -- a real signal of a market still young enough to be thin and mix-sensitive, unlike an established resale market with a longer price history.
Con: limited in-town commercial and hospital infrastructure, plus a likely special-district assessment
Ave Maria's Town Center commercial base is still building out, no hospital sits in town (Naples is roughly 30 minutes away), and a community development district or similar special-district assessment likely adds to the property tax bill beyond standard county millage (see cost-of-living, healthcare-safety, and taxes-insurance) -- all real tradeoffs for the newer construction and community identity.
Key takeaways
- Pro: genuinely new construction, a walkable university-anchored town center, and an unusual dual identity that includes a real dedicated retirement community (Del Webb Naples).
- Pro: Ave Maria University brings a real institutional anchor with a low and declining on-campus crime trend.
- Con: list and sale housing prices diverge meaningfully, signaling a still-thin, immature resale market.
- Con: limited in-town commercial and hospital infrastructure (Naples is roughly 30 minutes away), plus a likely special-district tax assessment on top of standard county millage.
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