Coastal Towns New Construction Homes (2026)
Updated November 9, 2026
Across the six small coastal towns on this page - Highland Beach, Gulf Stream, Ocean Ridge, Manalapan, Lighthouse Point and Hillsboro Beach - there are about 17 newly built single-family homes for sale as of early November 2026. Pricing begins around $2.8 million and reaches about $75 million. The average list price is close to $19 million on homes averaging roughly 7,300 square feet, which works out near $2,047 per square foot - more than double the per-foot average in Delray Beach. This is the top tier of the Palm Beach County and north Broward coast, and it is a very small number of houses.
Why these towns share one page
Each of these municipalities is small enough that it would be misleading to give it a page of its own. Highland Beach, Gulf Stream, Ocean Ridge and Hillsboro Beach each have exactly one new construction home listed right now. Manalapan has three. Lighthouse Point, the largest of the six by housing stock, has ten.
What they do have in common is more useful than a town line. All six are either barrier-island towns or sit directly on the Intracoastal. In every one of them, buildable land is finished - there is no undeveloped tract waiting for a subdivision, so a new house here means a lot that was bought and cleared. And all six exercise far more local control over what gets built than a large city does, because a town of a few thousand residents reviews individual houses rather than master plans.
That last point is the single most practical reason to read these towns together. The rules governing what you can build, how tall, how close to the water and in what style vary materially from one town to the next, and they are set at the town level rather than by the county.
Town by town, what is actually listed
With this few houses, a single sale changes the picture. The MLS search below this article is live and reflects the current count rather than this snapshot.
What each level buys on this coast
Around $2.8 to $5 million
Essentially Lighthouse Point, in Venetian Isles and Coral Key, plus Gulf Stream's Place Au Soleil at the top of this band. Three to five bedrooms, roughly 2,400 to 4,900 square feet, on a canal with access out to the Hillsboro Inlet or the Intracoastal. This is the only band in the six towns where new construction is available at all below $5 million, and it is the reason Lighthouse Point belongs on a page with towns whose averages are four times higher.
Around $5 to $12 million
The upper Coral Key builds, Gulf Stream, and Ocean Ridge. Five to six bedrooms, roughly 4,900 to 5,900 square feet. At this level you are buying a complete, current-code house on a good lot in a town that reviews construction closely - but not an oceanfront one. Direct ocean frontage does not begin in these towns until materially higher.
Around $12 to $22 million
Highland Beach oceanfront, the top Lighthouse Point builds on NE 24th Street and NE 27th Avenue, and Point Manalapan on the Intracoastal. Homes from roughly 7,000 to 9,100 square feet, with eight to ten bathrooms. The distinction that matters most inside this band is ocean versus Intracoastal frontage, and the two are not interchangeable on resale.
Above $22 million
Hillsboro Mile and oceanfront Manalapan. Homes from roughly 9,800 to over 19,000 square feet. At this level there is effectively no comparable-sale set - a handful of transactions a year across the whole stretch - so valuation rests on land, frontage and replacement cost rather than on recent sales of similar houses. Expect long marketing periods. That is a structural feature of this tier, not a signal about any individual property.
New construction against a recent resale here
This is the one market on the coast where the usual per-foot argument runs the other way. New construction in these six towns averages about $2,047 per square foot. Houses in the same towns built since 2010 and offered as resale average about $2,217 per square foot, on larger homes averaging close to 7,800 square feet.
Read that carefully before drawing a conclusion. It does not mean new construction is priced below the market. It means the recent-resale pool in these towns is weighted even more heavily toward oceanfront than the new-build pool is, and oceanfront land dominates the per-foot figure in a way that finish level never will. On this coast you are buying frontage first and the house second.
What new construction genuinely delivers here: a structure engineered to the current code in a high-wind, high-exposure location, impact glazing throughout, a roof and mechanical systems with full service life, and an insurance file that underwrites as a 2026 build on a barrier island. The last item is not a minor line in these towns.
What a recent resale delivers: certainty. You can stand in the finished house, watch how the light falls, see what the dock actually accommodates and what the neighbors built. Two of the new homes on this page carry 2027 build years.
I have worked through the same trade-off on the condominium side in older resale or new build in South Florida.
Seventeen houses across six towns is not a market you shop by searching. Lots in Highland Beach, Gulf Stream, Ocean Ridge and on Hillsboro Mile change hands quietly, and much of what gets built on them is placed before it is ever listed as new construction. I know which parcels have traded and what is in design.
Which Coastal Town Fits You?
What to check before you sign on a coastal build
- Get the elevation certificate and the flood zone for the specific parcel. Not the street, not the town. On a barrier island the difference between two adjacent lots can change both your insurance premium and what the town will let you build at grade. Ask for the finished floor elevation relative to base flood elevation in writing.
- Find out whether the lot sits seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line. On oceanfront parcels in Highland Beach, Manalapan, Ocean Ridge and Hillsboro Beach, the Florida CCCL is a state jurisdictional line administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Construction seaward of it requires a state permit in addition to the town's, with its own engineering, dune and sea turtle requirements. Confirm whether the permit is already issued, still pending, or not yet applied for - that answer changes your timeline more than anything the builder controls.
- Ask the town about architectural review, not the builder. Several of these towns review the design of individual houses - Gulf Stream maintains architectural review through its own board, and the others apply town-level design, height, setback and lot-coverage standards that are more restrictive than county rules. Verify directly with the town for the parcel, particularly if you intend to alter anything after closing.
- Verify the seawall and, if there is a dock, its permits. Age, condition, elevation and cap height on the seawall, and whether the dock, lift and any davits are permitted as built. A new house does not imply a new or permitted seawall.
- On a canal lot, confirm water depth at low tide and bridge clearance to open water. In Lighthouse Point and Place Au Soleil this governs what vessel the property actually serves. Measure it against your boat, not against the word "deep-water."
- Read the warranty document. Structural, systems and workmanship coverage run on separate clocks and vary widely between Florida builders.
- Get the allowance schedule in writing. The advertised price on a spec or semi-custom build often assumes base selections. The gap to what you walked through can be large at this scale.
- Confirm impact rating on every opening - sliders, skylights, garage doors and entry doors included, not just windows.
- Tie any 2027 delivery to a remedy in the contract, and confirm in writing what happens to your deposit if the date moves.
- Register your broker before your first site visit. The representative on site works for the builder.
Frequently asked questions
Which of these coastal towns has the most new construction available?
Lighthouse Point, by a wide margin. It accounts for ten of the roughly 17 newly built homes across all six towns in early November 2026, spread across Venetian Isles, Coral Key, Coral Key Villas and the First and Fifth Sections. The other five towns are at one listing each, except Manalapan, which has three. If you want choice rather than a single option, Lighthouse Point is where it exists.
What is the entry price for new construction in the small coastal towns?
About $2.8 million, and that number comes from Lighthouse Point's Venetian Isles. Outside Lighthouse Point, the most attainable new construction in these towns is in Gulf Stream's Place Au Soleil at roughly $5.7 million. In Highland Beach, Ocean Ridge, Manalapan and Hillsboro Beach, current new construction starts at about $12 million and runs up from there.
Why is the price per square foot so much higher in these towns?
Land and frontage. The six-town average for new construction is about $2,047 per square foot against roughly $836 in Delray Beach, and almost none of that spread is finish level. These towns are built out, the parcels are on the ocean or the Intracoastal, and a buyer is paying for irreplaceable frontage with a house on top of it. Manalapan alone averages above $3,600 per square foot because all three of its listings sit on the water.
What is the Coastal Construction Control Line and does it apply to my lot?
The CCCL is a state jurisdictional line established by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection along the Atlantic coast. Construction seaward of it requires a separate state permit on top of the town's approvals, with additional engineering, dune protection and sea turtle lighting requirements. It applies only to oceanfront and near-oceanfront parcels, so it is relevant in Highland Beach, Manalapan, Ocean Ridge and Hillsboro Beach, and generally not in Lighthouse Point or Place Au Soleil. Whether your specific parcel is seaward of the line is a question for the state and the town, and it should be answered before contract.
Do these towns review the design of a new house?
Several do, and more closely than a large city would. Gulf Stream operates architectural review through a town board, and the others apply town-level standards for height, setbacks, lot coverage and massing that are tighter than county baseline. In a town of a few thousand residents, individual houses go in front of people rather than through a plan-review queue. Verify the specific requirements with the town before you plan any change to a house you are buying.
What is the difference between Hillsboro Beach and Lighthouse Point?
Geography, mostly, and it drives everything else. Hillsboro Beach is the narrow barrier strip along Hillsboro Mile, where many parcels hold frontage on both the ocean and the Intracoastal; its one current new build is near $30 million. Lighthouse Point is on the mainland immediately west, laid out as a canal community with access out through the Hillsboro Inlet. Lighthouse Point is the deeper and far more attainable market, with new construction from about $2.8 million.
Is Place Au Soleil actually in Gulf Stream?
Yes. Place Au Soleil is Gulf Stream's neighborhood west of the Intracoastal, reached from Federal Highway rather than from A1A, and it is inside the town limits. The lots are canal lots with Intracoastal access rather than oceanfront, which is exactly why new construction there lists in the $5 million range while oceanfront in neighboring towns starts near $12 million.
How many directly comparable sales exist at the top of this market?
Very few, and buyers should plan around that. Above roughly $22 million the six towns together produce only a handful of transactions a year, so there is rarely a set of recent sales of genuinely similar houses to work from. Valuation at that level leans on land value, frontage type and replacement cost rather than on comparables, and marketing periods run long as a matter of course. Appraisal and lender timelines should be discussed early rather than assumed.
Can I find new construction in these towns that is already finished?
Most of what is listed now is complete or close to it, with build years of 2024, 2025 and 2026. Two carry 2027 - one in Highland Beach and one in Manalapan - meaning you would be contracting ahead of delivery. Given how few houses exist in this market at any moment, it is worth knowing which category you are willing to buy in before you start looking rather than after.
Damara Cohn
Broker of Mangrove Realty, Inc.
(561) 637-4559
Licensed Florida real estate broker since 2002, with 25+ years in the industry and over 35 years living in South Florida. Working the coastal towns from Pompano Beach through West Palm Beach. , or see what your current home is worth.
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Inventory counts, price bands, averages and price-per-square-foot figures on this page are drawn from the Beaches MLS as of November 9, 2026, are rounded, and change continuously. In a market this small a single transaction can change them materially. They are provided for general orientation and are not an appraisal or a valuation of any particular property. Price bands reflect active listings at the time of writing and are not builder price lists. Square footage and lot dimensions are approximate and may differ from as-built conditions and from county records. Builder warranties, allowance schedules, completion dates and impact-glass specifications vary by builder and by home and must be verified in the contract documents. Flood zone, elevation, Coastal Construction Control Line jurisdiction, state and town permitting, architectural review requirements, seawall and dock permitting, height and setback standards and water depth must be verified for the specific parcel with the applicable town and with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Nothing on this page is legal, financial, tax, engineering or insurance advice. Mangrove Realty, Inc. is not the builder or developer of any home or community referenced here and is not affiliated with their builders or sales teams. All information is believed accurate but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified. Mangrove Realty, Inc. is a licensed Florida real estate brokerage and fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act.
