Esplanade by the Islands: Should You Buy New Construction or Resale?

Esplanade by the Islands is still being built out by Taylor Morrison — roughly 1,250 homes at completion across about 525 acres — which means buyers face a choice resale-only communities don’t offer: build new, or buy a resale? Both are good options; they’re just good for different people. (Verify current pricing, fees, and incentives for any specific home.)

The case for new construction

• You choose everything — lot, floor plan, finishes, structural options. The home is exactly yours.
• Builder warranty and current-code construction (newer roof, systems, impact glass) — which can also help on insurance.
• Builder incentives — rate buy-downs, closing-cost credits, or design-center allowances come and go, and can be meaningful.

The trade-offs: lot premiums, design-center upgrades, and landscaping add up fast on top of the base price; you wait months to ~a year to move in; and you’re buying a raw lot and a rendering, not a finished home and a known view.

The case for resale

• Move-in ready — you see the actual home, the actual view, the finished pool and outdoor space, and the mature landscaping.
• Often better true value — many resales already include the pool, window treatments, and upgrades a new build charges extra for; the higher sticker can be the cheaper move-in.
• Known quantities — the specific CDD amount on that parcel, the neighbors, the section’s build-out stage.

The trade-offs: you take the home as-is (or renovate), finishes may not be your taste, and the $5,000 Resale Working Fund is, by default, the buyer’s at closing (negotiable).

How to decide

Decide on total move-in cost and timeline, not list price. Price a new build with the lot premium, the upgrades you’d actually want, and landscaping — then compare that against a comparable resale that already has them. If you’re relocating on a deadline, resale’s certainty wins; if customization matters most and you have time, new construction does.

One thing that applies to both: have your own representation in place early. On new construction the builder’s on-site agent represents the builder — see how builder commissions actually work. For the full cost picture either way, see the true cost to own at Esplanade, and for floor plans and live inventory, our dedicated esplanadenaples.org.

This is the community I specialize in — reach out and I’ll pull comparable new and resale options and run the real numbers on both.

Sources: Esplanade by the Islands / Taylor Morrison materials and governing documents, our first-party Esplanade data, and NAR-settlement (2024) representation rules. Pricing, incentives, fees, and build timelines change — verify current figures for the specific home. Independent guide by The Nicholas Nolan Team at Realty ONE Group MVP; not affiliated with the developer.