Housing and home values in Fellsmere — Fellsmere, Florida

The median owner-occupied home in Fellsmere is valued at $175,400, about half the Indian River County median of $351,500, in Census ACS 2020-2024 estimates.

The figure comes from table B25077 for Fellsmere city, with a margin of $26,725, so the true Fellsmere median could sit between about $148,700 and $202,100. Even at the top of that range it stays far below the medians for Indian River County ($351,500), Florida ($359,000) and nearby Sebastian ($317,000). These are owners' own estimates of what their homes would sell for, not recorded sale prices.

The Fellsmere value distribution in the DP04 housing profile is bunched in one band: 36.7 percent of owner-occupied homes are valued at $150,000 to $199,999. At the low end, 14.6 percent are valued under $50,000, and at the high end 14.8 percent fall between $300,000 and $499,999. Only 1.0 percent of Fellsmere owners put their home at $500,000 or more.

Median gross rent in Fellsmere is $1,158 a month, below the Indian River County median of $1,357 and Florida's $1,669, in Census ACS 2020-2024 estimates.

Table B25064 gives the Fellsmere median a margin of $233, against $58 for the county and $5 for Florida; Fellsmere has only 291 renter households paying cash rent, so its estimate is less precise. In Sebastian the median is $1,451. Most Fellsmere rents sit in a narrow band: 63.9 percent of renters pay $1,000 to $1,499, and 23.0 percent pay $500 to $999.

Lower rent does not mean easy rent in Fellsmere. In the Fellsmere DP04 table, 52.2 percent of renters spend 35 percent or more of household income on rent, above the 48.8 percent in the county profile and the 50.2 percent in the Florida profile. Renters occupy 327 Fellsmere homes, 26.0 percent of the occupied stock.

Most Fellsmere homeowners, 60.2 percent, own outright with no mortgage, and those who do carry one pay a median $1,071 a month in total owner costs.

In the Fellsmere profile, the median of selected monthly owner costs with a mortgage is $1,071, well below the county's $1,722 and Florida's $1,959; without a mortgage it is $361, against $692 in the county. Fellsmere's 931 owner-occupied homes make up 74.0 percent of occupied units, lower than the county's 80.1 percent and higher than Florida's 67.6 percent.

Fellsmere's 1,445 housing units are mostly single-family houses, 63.3 percent detached, but mobile homes make up 22.9 percent, about three times the county share.

The Fellsmere DP04 count puts 331 mobile homes in the city, against 7.3 percent of units in the county, 8.0 percent in Florida and 6.6 percent in Sebastian, where 87.0 percent of units are detached houses. Fellsmere also has a block of apartment units: 6.6 percent of its homes are in buildings of 10 to 19 units, and none in buildings of 20 or more. Boats, RVs and vans used as homes account for 2.6 percent.

Three-bedroom homes dominate the Fellsmere stock at 73.1 percent, compared with 45.5 percent across Indian River County. Of the 1,445 units, 1,258 are occupied and 187, or 12.9 percent, are vacant; the county vacancy rate is 18.1 percent.

Space is tight for many Fellsmere households. In 12.2 percent of occupied units there are more than 1.5 people per room, against 0.4 percent in Indian River County and 1.1 percent in Florida.

The median Fellsmere home was built in 1989, two years before the Indian River County median of 1991, and 12.4 percent of the town's homes date from 1939 or earlier.

Table B25035 gives Fellsmere a median year built of 1989 with a margin of 6 years, and the county 1991. The pre-1940 share is what sets Fellsmere apart: 12.4 percent of its units, compared with 1.1 percent countywide, 1.9 percent statewide and 0.1 percent in Sebastian. The town's early buildings include the Marian Fell Library, which opened on May 1, 1915 at 63 North Cypress Street, according to its Florida historical marker.

Most Fellsmere homes went up in two later waves: 26.3 percent in the 1980s and 28.7 percent from 2000 to 2009. Building slowed after that, with 6.5 percent from 2010 to 2019, and the ACS sample found no Fellsmere homes built in 2020 or later.

Fellsmere households also tend to stay in place. In the Fellsmere tenure data, 11.9 percent of householders moved into their current home in 1989 or earlier, against 4.7 percent in the county table. The largest group, 35.6 percent, moved in between 2010 and 2019, and 12.6 percent arrived in 2020 or later (3.5 percent from 2023 on plus 9.1 percent from 2020 to 2022). Vehicle counts run high in Fellsmere: 30.5 percent of occupied homes have three or more vehicles available, while 5.5 percent have none.

Fellsmere property values, exemptions and records are handled by the Indian River County Property Appraiser, not the City of Fellsmere, from offices in Vero Beach and Sebastian.

The Property Appraiser exemptions page lists the main office at 1800 27th Street, Vero Beach, and the Sebastian office at 1921 US Hwy 1, both open Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Under the office's homestead exemption guide, an owner must live in the home on January 1, and the deadline to apply is March 1 of the year the exemption is wanted. Once a homestead is granted, the 3 percent cap rule holds the yearly rise in a Fellsmere homestead's assessed value to the lower of 3 percent or the percentage change in the Florida Consumer Price Index.

City business tied to a Fellsmere home, such as paying a water bill, goes to the City of Fellsmere offices at 22 S. Orange Street, (772) 571-1616, which the city lists as open 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday, closed daily for lunch from 12 pm to 1:00 pm. Last verified: October 12, 2026, on the Indian River County Property Appraiser website.