Real Estate in Boca Delray Booming

The Lake Ida neighborhood in Delray is popular among buyers. The neighborhood is known for its park and proximity to all that's happening in Delray.

The Lake Ida neighborhood in Delray is popular among buyers. The neighborhood is known for its park and proximity to all that’s happening in Delray.

Based on the news and the buzz it sure seems like real estate is booming these days.

In Boca and Delray, both residential and commercial sales are roaring with some eye popping prices being paid by investors and end users eager to drink from a punch bowl that was dry for years. Or since 2007 to be exact.

In Delray, the Lake Ida neighborhood is sizzling with lot prices hitting $500,000 in some prime locations.

The appeal? Large lots, eclectic home designs and easy access to the downtown and beach.

But even out west, where the Delray Marketplace has become a major draw, new construction and re-sales are sizzling with GL Homes once again leading the way with its popular “The Bridges” project.

According to the real estate site Trulia, the average price per square foot for single family homes in Delray are $121, an increase of 5.2% compared to the same period last year. Compared to the same period one year ago, the median home sales price increased 8.5%, or $10,000, and the number of home sales increased 1.6%.

But wait, it gets better.

The average listing price for homes for sale in Delray Beach was a whopping $587,294 for the week ending Nov. 20, which actually represents a decrease of 0.5%, or $3,021, compared to the prior week, according to Trulia.

Zillow, another real estate site, reports slightly different numbers but strong results as well.

According to Zillow, home values are up nearly 15 percent from a year ago in Delray.

Boca’s numbers are even stronger.

Average price per square foot for Boca Raton is $151, an increase of 13.5% compared to the same period last year, says Trulia. Compared to the same period one year ago, the median home sales price increased 20.4%, or $38,500, and the number of home sales decreased 0.3. The average listing price for homes for sale in Boca Raton was $770,587 for the week ending Nov. 20, which represents an increase of 2%, or $15,161, compared to the prior week.

Zillow reports that Boca’s home values are up nearly 18 percent from a year ago.

Hot neighborhoods in Boca: Boca Del Mar, Boca Pointe, Mission Bay and Whisper Walk.

Commercial properties are also in demand.

Local real estate pro’s are reporting heavy sales activity along Delray’s Federal Highway and south of Atlantic Avenue. Another hot area is near the new “Artist’s Alley” near Third Avenue and Third Street.

East Boca is also reporting strong commercial interest.

Another trend to watch is the proliferation of multi-family projects.

The Wall Street Journal recently had a front page story on the Miami condo tower market, which expects to add over 12,000 new units in the next few years.

But lost in the amazing Miami comeback story—fueled by foreign investors gobbling up downtown condo’s—are even more dramatic numbers north of Miami in Broward and Palm Beach Counties.

An astounding 70 percent of residential construction permits issued through October have been for multi-family projects in Broward and Palm Beach.

Overall in South Florida, at least 172 new condo towers with more than 22,500 units are proposed, planned, under construction, or recently completed in the tri-county South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach as of October 11, 2013, according to the Preconstruction Condo Projects Database™ compiled by the licensed Florida brokerage CVR Realty™.