[villages07]

Block houses seemed to weather the tornado better than stick...although a couple of block homes were damaged to the point of being torn down. Insurance is cheaper on block; block house is more expensive to begin with; no vinyl siding issues with block.

I guess it comes down to what you can afford, concerns about future maintenance, and what aesthetically appeals to you. To me, block and stucco is part of the Florida look.

Patio villas and ranch homes are only stick/siding; courtyard villas and designers come in both; premiers are almost exclusively block (I did see one or two that did not have a stucco finish);

LG is right, though...both are built to same hurricane standards.