Selling in Pace vs Cantonment: How to Compete With New Construction

Quick answer, as of October 2026. If you're selling a resale home in Pace or Cantonment, your biggest competitor isn't the house down the street. It's the builder. New construction made up about 54% of recent Pace sales and about 59% of Cantonment closings, according to local MLS data. Pace homes were selling in a median 58 days in June 2026 and Cantonment homes in 85 days in August, per Redfin. In both markets, sellers who price right on day one and lean into what a new build can't offer are the ones who sell.

Written October 2026 by Christina Leavenworth, REALTOR®, The Christina Leavenworth Team at Levin Rinke Realty. Sources: Redfin market data for Pace (June 2026) and zip 32533 (August 2026), Momentum Realty MLS summaries (October 2026).

Where the two markets stand

Pace is speeding up. Cantonment is slowing down.

That matters for how you list. In Pace, a well-priced home is moving faster than it did a year ago. In Cantonment, homes are sitting longer, and local MLS data shows sellers getting about 94% of their original list price over the past year. That gap is usually the cost of starting too high and coming down later.

Why the builders are your real competition

When a buyer tours your house in Cantonment, there's a good chance they toured Reserve at Brookhaven or another new community that same weekend. In Pace, it's Lakes of Woodbine, Jubilee or Stonechase.

Builders can do things you can't. They can pay closing costs, buy down the buyer's interest rate and throw in appliances. A buyer looking at a payment, not a price, may find a new build cheaper per month even when it costs more on paper.

So don't try to beat the builder at the builder's game. Win on what they can't give.

What resale homes win on

Lot size and trees. New subdivisions tend to pack homes tight. If you've got a bigger lot, mature trees or a private backyard, put it in the first photo.

Land. Rural north Pace has 1 to 5 acre properties, and Cantonment has 1 to 3 acre lots north of Highway 29, some set up for horses. Buyers who want land can't get it from a builder. That's your strongest card.

No construction zone. A finished neighborhood with no dump trucks and no empty lots next door is a real selling point. Say it.

Move-in now. A new build can take months. If your home is ready on closing day, that matters to anybody on a PCS timeline or a lease that's ending.

The upgrades are already done. Fence, blinds, landscaping, a screened porch. Buyers at a new build pay extra for every one of those. Add them up for the buyer in your listing.

Prep that pays off in both towns

Get ahead of the insurance inspection. On older homes, the buyer's insurer will often want a 4-point inspection of the roof, electrical, plumbing and HVAC. A roof near the end of its life or an outdated electrical panel can stop a sale cold.

If you're on a well and septic, which is common on acreage in both towns, have the septic pumped and inspected before you list. Having that report ready keeps a buyer from walking during the inspection period.

Price against resale, not new construction. Your comps are the resale homes that sold near you in the last few months, adjusted for lot and condition. Pricing off a builder's base price is how sellers end up sitting.

The tax difference buyers will ask about

Pace is in Santa Rosa County and Cantonment is in Escambia County. The 2025 rate for unincorporated Pace was 11.3897 mills, against 13.4035 for unincorporated Escambia. Out-of-town buyers often notice that.

If you're selling in Cantonment, have your agent explain the full monthly picture so a buyer isn't scared off by a tax estimate based on your old assessed value. Florida's Save Our Homes cap resets when a home sells, so the new owner's bill is based on the sale price, not yours.

Find out what your home will sell for

I've sold more than 1,300 homes across Pensacola and Santa Rosa County since 2017, including plenty of resale homes competing against builders in Pace and Cantonment.

If you're thinking about selling, I'll put together a free home valuation built on the resale comps around you, plus a plan for how your home stands out against the new builds nearby. Call or text me at (850) 786-3996.

Christina Leavenworth, licensed in Florida as Christina Brunet-Sabastia. REALTOR®, The Christina Leavenworth Team at Levin Rinke Realty, 823 E Gadsden St, Pensacola, FL 32501. (850) 786-3996.