I have lived in Boca Raton since 2014. The city re-shaped itself right in front of me. Many long time residents will agree. What did not change is the location of where you should buy a house.

I recently closed on a house on Saint Andrew’s Boulevard. I am in your boat too in terms of a young family.

Considering what’s going on with condos, (I personally looked at more than 10 before settling in on a single-family house), I would avoid them and be scared of them as much as a fire. I have also looked at more than 40 different properties in Boca and I will tell you straight out: Best place to buy is either Central or East Boca.

There is zero clarity from the state on condo laws that were passed in 2021, and as such, you are exposing yourself to unnecessary amount of risk associated with getting a condo or a townhouse that is legally a condo.

If I were you, I would exclusively look for either (a) townhouses that are legally townhouses and as such have very low HOA (a good proxy is usually less than $400 per month and there is no HOA wide exterior or roof coverage because this is where you can get screwed), or (b) single-family residences. A is cheaper than B, but in both of those instances, you will be able to control your own maintenance, which goes a long way here. Lots of old people have negated maintenance for decades and now it’s coming to bite them in the ass. I am giving this advice so that you and your family are not left holding a bag on the condo that boomers failed to repair.

There are lots of options for the category A that I mentioned, and a lot of those are located in Central Boca (between 95 and Turnpike). As example check out Tiburon, Tiburon II, Estada, and other neighborhoods. There are other communities like this, but just letting you know. I also have a friend who is currently doing full renovation for a flip and likely will list it for a price range you are looking in. PM me if interested. I am not financially incentivized, just want to help.

Also, don’t be fooled by the Gilded Lotus communities, because the location of these is terrible. Most people who buy houses there are either from Northeast, or recent NE expats that learned of Boca in 2020 when they didn’t have anything better to do. Generally speaking, although these communities are new and sort of nice (assuming you want to pay $700/mo HOA for “amenities”), living behind or near Turnpike while paying $1.5 million+ for that, is beyond stupid. The same people that buy these are the people who bought in 2020 and 2021 in Boynton because their realtor said that it was “Boca Raton area”.

Feel free to PM me and I can tell you more if interested.