The St. Joe Company's 110,000-acre Watersound development, one of the nation's fastest-growing planned communities, is attracting a blue-chip lineup of major U.S. home builders to the Panhandle.
The latest to join St. Joe's slate of 20-plus builders — which includes DR Horton — is Atlanta-based PulteGroup, the nation's third-largest home builder.
Over its 75-year history, the PulteGroup has developed more than 850,000 homes and currently has operations in 26 states and 47 markets throughout the U.S. St. Joe and Pulte recently signed a contract for the sale of 1,326 homesites with future options for a total of 2,653.
Development of the first phase of homesites is anticipated to commence in 2027.
The housing units Pulte plans to build will be offered at various price points and in traditional communities without an age 55-plus restriction, says Mike Kerrigan, St. Joe's vice president of marketing and communications.
"Attracting a builder of this caliber to Northwest Florida reflects the region's continued momentum and market demand and furthers our strategic plan for ongoing growth along the State Road 79 corridor," says St. Joe CEO Jorge Gonzalez.
"Additionally, this new relationship reinforces that we continue to receive inquiries from builders who want to come to our market and join our builder program."
Justin Cook, PulteGroup president for the Northeast Florida division, says the decision to enter the Watersound community provides the company with "exceptional" development opportunities and, moreover, the deal with St. Joe "aligns perfectly with our portfolio of consumer-inspired designs."
The Pulte development site is served by a broad array of diverse housing options, health care facilities, hospitality offerings, commercial office and storefront space, open-air gathering spaces and other recreational and aesthetic amenities.
Currently under construction is a 180-bed hospital on St. Joe's 87-acre Panama City Beach medical campus. The hospital is being developed by St. Joe, FSU Health and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, and is anticipated to open in 2028.
St. Joe's contract with the PulteGroup follows another significant development that took place in 2025.
Due to increasing demand for homesite development, sales and resales, St. Joe opened Watersound Real Estate, a boutique brokerage, to manage both new home sales as well as resales.
Watersound was recognized in 2025 by Robert Charles Lesser Co., a California-based real estate consulting company, as the nation's 22nd-fastest-growing planned community for new home sales.
The rapidly growing brokerage now has more than 50 agents representing buyers and sellers in the area.
Earlier this year, St. Joe began construction of a third sales center as a result of increasing buyer demand.
— By Carlton Proctor