31 Oct Gulf Stream, Ocean Ridge and Manalapan: Palm Beach County’s Most Private Coastal Towns

Gulf Stream, Ocean Ridge and Manalapan: Palm Beach County’s Most Private Coastal Towns

Gulf Stream, Ocean Ridge and Manalapan are three small oceanfront towns between Delray Beach and Palm Beach, each with fewer than 2,000 residents, its own police department and its own design review, and in Manalapan a 3.5-acre oceanfront lot sold for $105 million in 2026, which The Coastal Star called the most paid for vacant land in county history. This guide covers each town, recent sales, the beach and flood questions buyers face, and what to ask, as of October 31, 2026.

Facts come from the three towns, Palm Beach County, Florida Statutes, Florida Realtors data and established press, as dated below. Prices and rules change; this is general information, not legal, tax or insurance advice.

At a Glance

Population figures are from Palm Beach County’s census table; medians are from Florida Realtors’ 2025 market data. With so few sales, the medians swing widely from year to year.

Gulf Stream

The Town of Gulf Stream was planned in the 1920s on land bought by Bessemer Properties, controlled by the Phipps family, and its original homes followed a Phipps maxim of “understated elegance,” according to the town. Its stretch of A1A, lined with Australian pines, was designated a State Historic Scenic Highway in 1992, according to the Florida Division of Historical Resources. The town runs its own police department, which it says patrols 24 hours a day.

Design review

New homes and large renovations go to the town’s Architectural Review and Planning Board and then, for new primary homes, to the Town Commission, according to the town. Gulf Stream first adopted design rules in 1992; a commissioner described its Bermuda style as “simple, straightforward,” and the town discourages exterior colors other than white, The Coastal Star reported in 2018.

Clubs and sales

The private Gulf Stream Golf Club was founded in 1924, with a clubhouse by Addison Mizner and a course by Donald Ross, according to the town; the Gulf Stream Bath & Tennis Club followed in 1935. The town’s record sale, as of October 2026, is $39 million, paid in June 2024 for 3223 N. Ocean Blvd, an oceanfront teardown on about 2.1 acres, The Real Deal reported. In September 2025, the 1928 Maurice Fatio estate Miradero sold for $21.6 million, The Coastal Star reported.

Ocean Ridge

The Town of Ocean Ridge sits on the barrier island just south of the Boynton Inlet, with its Town Hall at 6450 N. Ocean Blvd. It has its own police department and contracts with the City of Boynton Beach for fire and emergency medical service, according to the town. In 2017 the town moved to let its Planning and Zoning Commission weigh height, scale and architectural harmony in site plan review, The Coastal Star reported.

Ocean Inlet Park, a county park at the inlet, has 600 feet of guarded beach and 24-hour jetty fishing, according to Palm Beach County. In March 2026, a federal shore protection project began placing about 500,000 cubic yards of offshore sand along about a mile of beach south of the inlet, designed for five to seven years of storm protection, according to the county. We found no press report of a record Ocean Ridge sale in 2024 to 2026. The highest press-reported sale we found was $27 million, in 2021, as reported by The Real Deal.

Manalapan

The Town of Manalapan lies on the barrier island north of the Boynton Inlet, between the Atlantic and Lake Worth Lagoon, and many of its estates run from the ocean to the lake across A1A; one such estate sold for $25 million in early 2025, The Real Deal reported. It has its own police and fire rescue and an Architectural Commission, according to the town.

Record sales

• A 3.5-acre vacant oceanfront lot at 1120 S. Ocean Blvd sold for $105 million in 2026, which The Coastal Star called “the most paid for vacant land in Palm Beach County history.”
• 1940 S. Ocean Blvd sold for $68.3 million in February 2026, the most expensive U.S. home sale that month, according to Redfin.
• In June 2026, 1660 S. Ocean Blvd sold for $72 million, The Coastal Star reported.

The Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa (now branded Eau Resort & Spa), the town’s oceanfront resort with 309 rooms and a 42,000-square-foot spa, sold for $277.4 million in 2024, The Coastal Star reported.

The Beach Question

The sand transfer plant at the Boynton Inlet, built in 1937, moves sand from the Manalapan side to beaches to the south, and the two towns have disputed it for decades, The Coastal Star reported. Manalapan is challenging the state’s new 10-year permit for the plant, and Ocean Ridge has moved to oppose that challenge; a hearing was postponed to January 25 to 28, 2027, The Coastal Star reported in September 2026. Manalapan’s beaches are private, so the town cannot receive federal or state money for renourishment, The Coastal Star reported in 2025.

What Buyers Should Check

• Flood maps. New FEMA flood maps for Palm Beach County took effect on December 20, 2024, and more than 16,000 parcels saw base flood elevations rise a foot or more, according to the county.
• Condo inspections. Under Florida law, condo and co-op buildings of three or more habitable stories need a milestone structural inspection by December 31 of the year they turn 30 (or 25, if the local enforcement agency requires it because of local conditions such as proximity to salt water), then every 10 years.
• Property taxes. A homestead caps annual increases in assessed value at 3% or the change in inflation, whichever is lower, and up to $500,000 of that benefit can be carried to a new Florida homestead, under Florida law; the assessment resets to market value on January 1 after a sale. A proposed constitutional amendment on the November 3, 2026 ballot would change homestead exemptions and the cap on non-homestead property; we will update this guide with the result. Check any parcel with the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser.

Questions to Ask Before You Buy

1. Which town is the house actually in? Mailing addresses can carry a neighboring town’s name, so check the Property Appraiser record.
2. What will design review require, and how long will it add to a rebuild?
3. Is the lot east of the state’s Coastal Construction Control Line, and what can be built there?
4. What flood zone and base flood elevation apply under the December 2024 maps, and is there an elevation certificate?
5. For an ocean-to-lake estate, is it one parcel or two, and what dock and seawall permits exist?
6. What has the beach in front of the property done in recent years, and who pays to restore it?
7. For a condo, has the building completed its milestone inspection, and what do the reserve study and any assessments show?
8. What will the property tax bill be after the sale resets the assessed value?

The Bottom Line

Gulf Stream is for buyers who want a quiet, design-controlled town; Ocean Ridge offers more variety near the inlet; and Manalapan is where some of South Florida’s biggest oceanfront estates trade. In all three, check the beach, the flood map and the design rules before you commit.

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Last updated October 31, 2026. Facts come from the sources listed above, checked on that date, and may change. Not legal, financial, tax or investment advice. Full disclaimer