Delray Beach Real Estate

With a population of 60,000, Delray Beach is a fascinating place to live and visit. It is located adjacent to Boca Raton to the south and Boynton Beach to the north, and has nearly 3 miles of spectacular beachfront on the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The Delray Municipal beach has actually been named the number one beach in all of the south east United States.  While most towns in Florida are a series of strip centers, Delray Beach has a real, honest-to-goodness downtown feel, cherished by visitors and locals alike. Delray enjoys a tropical rainforest climate, meaning it is hot and humid throughout the year, but dryer in the winter. It is worth noting that hurricane season runs from June 1^st to November 30^th.

Settlement of the area began in earnest in 1884 when African-Americans purchased land here and began farming. By 1894 the community was large enough for the first school to be built. This same year a businessman named William Linton bought land and began selling plots, hoping to establish a farming community he modestly called Linton. In 1896 Henry Flagler extended the Florida East Coast Railroad from West Palm Beach down to Miami, and included a station at Linton. The town was becoming a thriving community until a hard freeze in 1898 destroyed crops, and many settlers gave up and left, including William Linton.

In 1901 in an attempt to escape the bad luck and reputation of the name Linton, the town adopted the new name of Delray. The early 1900’s brought settlers from the Bahamas, and Japanese settlers from the nearby Yamato Colony began participating in Delray events. The town became known for having a very diverse community – in 1910 the 904 citizens were listed as coming from 24 states and 9 other countries. This diversity is still found in Delray today.

The Florida land boom in 1920’s helped Delray prosper. At the time it was the biggest town on the coast between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. Tourism and real estate became big business, and lots of hotels were built. In the mid 1920’s a seasonal Artists and Writers Colony was established, so Delray started to become a winter home to artists, authors, and cartoonists. You’ll still be able to enjoy this creative, artistic influence throughout the town. The area also became popular with surfers – in 1965 a freighter ran aground on Singer Island, creating a windbreak and perfect waves for surfing. The ship has since been dismantled, but surfers still have an affinity with the area.

Delray Beach Homes For Sale

The community is a top choice for year-round residents, as well as investors in vacation and retirement properties. Delray has very diverse real estate. Choose from sensational golf communities with homes upwards of $5m, oceanfront homes in excess of $20m, and condos for as little as $150,000. You can also find active Adult communities and luxury country clubs. Expect homes and communities built by luxury developers such as Toll Brothers, Kenco custom homes, and GL homes.

These days downtown Delray Beach is world-famous. Centered around Atlantic Avenue (the longest main street in Florida), the town center is filled with restaurants that run the gamut from your local hot dog & Philly Cheese Steak dives to gourmet fish and steak houses. Art galleries, bars, cup-cake shops, jewellery stores, luxury fashion stores, quirky boutiques, and nightclubs line both sides of the street. If you’re into people watching, the streets are filled with both the young and the old, dressing from Florida casual to a night out on the town. The diversity of age in the downtown area is remarkable, with the old folks eating before 6:30pm and the younger crowd starting at 8:00pm and later. Downtown Delray is dog friendly – you’ll notice many canine friendly eateries up and down the street.

The Pineapple Grove Arts District is located just south of Atlantic Avenue, and is known for art galleries, performance arts events, and cultural activities. Visit the Silverball Museum for more than 150 classic, playable pinball machines and arcade games.

Evidence of the area’s Japanese heritage can be found at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens. Here you can enjoy two museum buildings with Japanese gardens, a bonsai garden, library, gift shop, and a Japanese restaurant. You can enjoy classes and demonstrations such as tea ceremonies, and traditional Japanese festivals throughout the year.

Delray Beach has exciting events weekly, so if you are looking to wander the streets, you can attend various art fairs and street festivals along Atlantic Avenue. Choose from Arts & Crafts, Wine & Cheese, Garlic, Wearable Art, Jazz, and Antiques to name just a few! There is also a regular Farmers Market and Flea Market.

When you’ve had enough of shopping and dining, you might like to partake in some sporting activities! The Delray Beach Tennis Center has 14 clay courts, 6 hard courts, and even an 8,200-seat stadium. The center also has an upstairs pavilion and conference room, and pro-shop with locker rooms. You can choose to participate in a number of programs, or simply enjoy a game or two. If you prefer golf, there are several local courses including the Delray Beach Golf Club, which features a 6,907-yard par 72 Donald Ross designed course.

After all that activity you can relax on the pristine beach, or go ahead and enjoy some water sports. Visit The Delray Wreck – a steamship that sank off the shore in 1903.  Now lying in shallow water it provides the perfect habitat for local fish and corals, and is excellent for snorkeling and scuba diving. For those that enjoy boating the city has a municipal marina with rental slips, and downtown is accessible by boat via the Intracoastal Waterway.

Throughout Delray Beach you will also find nature trails, athletic fields, bike paths, a teen center with skatepark, splash park, tot-lots and playgrounds, and as many as 15 community, beach, and Intracoastal parks. All these amenities helped Delray to be voted the ‘most fun small town in America’ by USA today in 2012. All in all, Delray Beach Real Estate is not to be missed out on!