Looking for a Del Webb Naples alternative that is not 55+?
The single biggest difference is age: Del Webb Naples in Ave Maria is an age-restricted 55+ community, while Valencia Golf & Country Club is open to all ages, sits closer to Naples, and puts an optional pay-as-you-play golf course inside the gates instead of a club program you buy into.
This comparison comes up constantly, usually in one of two situations. Either someone under 55 fell in love with a Del Webb model home and then read the fine print, or a couple in their fifties realized that a 55+ deed restriction complicates having an adult child, a grandchild or a younger spouse living with them.
Both are legitimate communities. Only one of them will sell you a home if you are 48.
Valencia Golf & Country Club vs. Del Webb Naples
Del Webb Naples is not in Naples proper. It is a neighborhood inside the town of Ave Maria, in Collier County, which matters for both the drive and the tax bill.
| Valencia Golf & Country Club | Del Webb Naples | |
|---|---|---|
| Age restriction | None. All ages, and families with school-age children live here | 55+ age-restricted. Del Webb states this plainly on its own site. Read the community documents for the exact occupancy rule |
| Builder | Lennar builds the current phase | Del Webb, a Pulte brand |
| Location | Orangetree corridor, Naples 34120, roughly nine miles east of I-75 off Immokalee Road | 6231 Liberty Street, Ave Maria, FL 34142, inside the town of Ave Maria. Published sources place Ave Maria about 36 miles northeast of downtown Naples — roughly ten miles farther east than Valencia |
| Price | Lennar base prices $463,999–$520,999 across four plans, plus lot-priced move-in ready homes | Lower entry point. Del Webb’s own site showed homes starting near $299,990 in its Vista collection and running to roughly $634,990 in its Echelon collection when we checked in August 2026. Resale listings range wider |
| Home sizes | 2,032–2,444 square feet, all single-story, 3–4 bedrooms, three of four plans with a three-car garage | Roughly 1,405 to 3,970 square feet per Del Webb’s published range, across attached villas, single-family and carriage homes |
| Community size | Lennar’s current phase is approximately 112 homesites inside the older, wider community | Much larger. A 55+ community directory lists roughly 2,123 homes, built from 2007 onward |
| Golf | 18-hole public, pay-as-you-play course inside the gates at roughly $30 a round. Membership optional, never bundled into HOA dues | Panther Run, an 18-hole course. Del Webb describes golf membership as optional. One Naples golf resource additionally describes a required social membership with golf remaining optional — we have not confirmed the current structure in writing and will not state it as fact |
| Amenities | Resort pool, Mediterranean-inspired clubhouse, fitness center, tennis, dog park, playground, maintained lawns, plus range, pro shop and patio bar at the course | Considerably larger program: two clubhouses totaling more than 30,000 square feet per Del Webb, an 8,000 square foot resort pool, lap pool, twelve lighted pickleball courts, two tennis courts, fitness center, studios and a full-time lifestyle director |
| HOA | Lennar publishes an approximate HOA of $399 per month for this phase, with lawn maintenance included | Varies by home type. A 55+ directory listed a range of roughly $192 to $637 per month. Del Webb’s own site did not publish a figure where we looked, so treat that range as indicative and get the current number in writing |
| CDD or district assessment | Lennar’s marketing for this phase states there is no CDD. We pull the Collier County tax record for the specific parcel | Ave Maria is served by the Ave Maria Stewardship Community District, which states on its own site that it levies an annual assessment against property for a pro-rata share of public infrastructure. We have not verified a dollar amount for any parcel and will not guess |
| Schools | Corkscrew Elementary, Corkscrew Middle, Palmetto Ridge High. Zoning can change and we confirm assignment for a specific address | Not applicable in the same way — a 55+ community is not designed around households with school-age children |
Competitor details above were last checked in August 2026 from public sources and Del Webb’s own published material. They change without notice, and anything that affects your budget we confirm in writing before you tour.
What a 55+ restriction actually costs you
Age-restricted communities in Florida operate under a federal housing exemption that lets them require a minimum age for occupancy. The practical version, in most communities, is that at least one occupant of each home must be 55 or older and there are limits on how long younger people — including your own family — can stay. The exact rule lives in each community’s recorded documents, not in a brochure, and it is enforceable.
For plenty of buyers that restriction is the entire appeal. Quiet streets, no school-bus traffic, neighbors with the same weekday schedule, and an amenity program built for people with time to use it at eleven on a Tuesday. Del Webb has been doing this longer and better than almost anyone, and the Del Webb Naples amenity list — two clubhouses, twelve lighted pickleball courts, a full-time lifestyle director — is genuinely more than Valencia offers.
The cost shows up in flexibility. If a grown child needs to move home for a year, if you are raising a grandchild, if you and your spouse are on opposite sides of the age line, or if you might sell in ten years to a buyer pool that is by definition smaller, an age restriction is a real constraint on your own house. Valencia has none of that. It is simply a gated community with a golf course, open to whoever wants to live there.
The resale angle nobody mentions on a model-home tour
A 55+ home can only ever be sold to a 55+ household. An all-ages home can be sold to anyone, including a 55+ buyer. That asymmetry does not make either choice wrong, and well-run active-adult communities hold value very well. But it is worth thinking about for ten minutes before you sign, particularly if this is a five-to-ten-year home rather than a forever one. We will talk through it honestly, including the case for buying the Del Webb.
Who each community is genuinely better for
If you are over 55, want a big club program, and the drive does not bother you, Del Webb Naples is probably the better buy and we will say so out loud.
Del Webb Naples is the better fit if…
- You qualify for 55+ and you actively want the age restriction rather than merely tolerating it.
- You want the deepest possible amenity and social program: two clubhouses, a lifestyle director, twelve lighted pickleball courts, organized clubs and leagues.
- Your budget is under Valencia’s entry point. Del Webb publishes starting prices well below $463,999, including attached villas.
- You want a smaller or much larger home than Valencia offers — its published range runs from about 1,405 to 3,970 square feet against our 2,032 to 2,444.
- You like the idea of a self-contained town with its own center, and the longer drive to the coast is not part of your weekly routine.
Valencia is the better fit if…
- You are under 55, or anyone in your household is, or you want to keep that door open. This one is binary.
- You want to be meaningfully closer to Naples, I-75, the beaches and the hospitals.
- You want golf with no obligation attached — roughly $30 a round on a public course, optional membership, nothing bundled into dues. Here is exactly how that works.
- You want a simpler tax picture. Lennar’s marketing for this phase states there is no CDD, which we verify at the county rather than assert ourselves.
- You want a new single-story home with a three-car garage in the mid-$400s to low-$500s — three of the four plans include one — or something you can close on quickly from the available inventory.
What under-55 buyers ask us
What is a good Del Webb Naples alternative that is not 55+?
Valencia Golf & Country Club is the closest like-for-like on the east side of Collier County: gated, single-story new construction, an 18-hole golf course, resort pool, fitness center and maintained lawns, with no age restriction at all. It sits closer to Naples than Ave Maria does, Lennar base prices run $463,999 to $520,999, and Lennar publishes an approximate HOA of $399 per month for this phase. The trade is amenity scale — Del Webb Naples has two clubhouses and a lifestyle director, and Valencia does not pretend to match that. Orange Blossom Ranch nearby is another all-ages option, without golf.
Can someone under 55 buy in Del Webb Naples?
Del Webb Naples is marketed and operated as a 55+ age-restricted community, so occupancy rules apply and they are recorded in the community documents rather than set by a salesperson. Communities differ on the specifics — how many occupants must meet the age, whether a younger spouse qualifies, how long younger guests may stay — so if you are anywhere near the line, read the actual recorded restrictions before you get emotionally attached to a model. Valencia has no age restriction, which is why it ends up on so many of these searches.
Is golf required at Del Webb Naples or at Valencia?
At Valencia, no. The course is public and pay-as-you-play at roughly $30 a round, membership is optional, and no golf cost is bundled into HOA dues. At Del Webb Naples, Del Webb’s own marketing describes golf at Panther Run as optional, and one Naples golf-community resource additionally describes a mandatory social membership with golf remaining optional. We have not confirmed the current membership structure in writing, so we are not going to state it as fact — ask the club directly, or ask us and we will get it dated and in writing before you tour.
Which is cheaper to own month to month?
We cannot give you a straight answer without a specific home, and anyone who does is guessing. Del Webb Naples has a lower entry price and a 55+ directory lists HOA fees ranging roughly $192 to $637 per month depending on home type, but Ave Maria homes also carry a stewardship district assessment on the annual tax bill, and we have not verified that amount. Valencia is $463,999 to $520,999 with an approximate $399 per month HOA published by Lennar and a builder statement of no CDD. Give us the two specific homes and we will build the real side-by-side carrying cost, including taxes and insurance. Our FAQ page covers the Valencia side of that in detail.
If you are over 55, we will still give you the honest answer
Plenty of buyers who find this page should go buy the Del Webb, and we would rather tell you that than talk you into the wrong house. What we can do either way is the unglamorous part: pull the tax records, read the recorded age and membership restrictions, get the HOA budget rather than the HOA headline, and confirm what builder incentives are genuinely available on the day you are ready, since those move week to week.
Call or text (239) 208-0906. We meet buyers at 1809 Lema Court, Naples, FL 34120, the Lennar Welcome Home Center.
Competitor community details on this page were last checked August 2026 and change without notice. Valencia pricing and availability last verified August 10, 2026. Subject to change without notice. We are independent licensed Florida agents and are not Lennar, Del Webb, Pulte, any homeowners association, any stewardship or community development district, or any golf club.