Last updated September 3, 2026
Davie Guide for Residents
Short answer: Davie is a Broward County town of roughly 112,000 people - the largest town in Florida by population - that grew out of farming and horses rather than platted subdivisions, and still protects that character with acreage zoning and a large trail network. It also holds the South Florida Education Center campuses, including Nova Southeastern University. The result is a market where lot size, zoning and water rights swing value more than square footage does. If you own here and want to know what your property would sell for today, we prepare that by hand, not by algorithm.
How Davie is laid out
Davie does not have a single centre so much as several. The older core sits around Davie Road and Griffin Road, with the western ranches and acreage neighborhoods spreading out toward Flamingo Road and Southwest Ranches. North of I-595, around Nova Drive and University Drive, you are in the education and medical district, where the housing turns to townhouses, condominiums and conventional subdivisions. East toward Fort Lauderdale the town blends into denser residential streets. Because zoning changes across those areas - some allowing horses and outbuildings, some not - the zoning designation on a parcel is part of its value here in a way that is unusual for South Florida.
The neighborhoods people ask about
Long Lake Ranches, Harmony Lakes and the surrounding gated communities are the recognisable planned developments with lakes and larger houses. The acreage sections west of Flamingo Road are where equestrian buyers look, and they trade on land, access and what the zoning permits rather than on kitchen finishes. Around the campuses the market is smaller townhouses and condominiums with a genuine rental demand behind them. Shenandoah, Forest Ridge and Ivanhoe cover much of the conventional family housing. Comparable sales here have to match on lot size and zoning, not just bedroom count.
Horses, trails and land
The trail system and the equestrian zoning are the town's signature, and they are also the most misunderstood part of buying here. Whether you can keep animals, build a barn or run a business from a parcel depends on that parcel's zoning and land-use designation, which the town confirms in writing - never a listing, and never a neighbour's arrangement. If the equestrian use is the reason you are buying, make that confirmation a condition rather than an assumption. The same applies to well and septic systems on the acreage parcels, which need their own inspections.
Getting around and everyday things
I-595 crosses the town and connects to I-95, I-75 and the Turnpike, with University Drive, Davie Road, Flamingo Road and Griffin Road carrying local traffic. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International is roughly 20 minutes east depending on the hour. Nova Southeastern University, Broward College and other campuses in the South Florida Education Center sit in the middle of the town, along with several medical facilities. Broward County Public Schools serves the whole city and boundaries move, so confirm the assignment for a specific address with the district rather than relying on a listing.
What owning property in Davie involves
Two numbers decide what owning here actually costs, and neither is on the listing. Property tax is set on your own purchase, not the seller's assessed value, so the tax line you see on a listing usually reflects a homestead exemption and an assessment cap that belong to the current owner and do not transfer with the house. Insurance is the other one: wind coverage, and flood coverage where the property calls for it, quoted on the specific roof, year built and elevation rather than a county average. Get both quoted on the actual address before you commit to a price. If the property is in an association, add the dues, ask what has been voted, and read the budget and reserve position rather than the marketing sheet.
If you own here
What your property is worth depends on things a website cannot see: which street you are on, what the last owner did to the place, what your association holds in reserve, and which recent sales are genuinely comparable to yours. We work that out by hand from those sales rather than publishing an automated estimate, usually the same day, with the sales it is based on attached. Ask for an opinion of value on your property.
Nearby and related
This guide describes the town and how property here trades. It carries no market statistics on purpose, so nothing on it goes stale; the live figures sit on the market pages linked above, sourced from BeachesMLS. PBP Real Estate, LLC, 700 NW 7th Dr, Boca Raton, FL 33486, 561-395-8418. Equal Housing Opportunity.
Living in and owning property in Davie: questions and answers
Where is Davie, Florida?
In central-western Broward County, roughly 24 miles north of Miami, bordered by Fort Lauderdale and Plantation to the north and east and Cooper City and Southwest Ranches to the south and west. Griffin Road, University Drive and I-595 are the main routes.
Why is Davie a town rather than a city?
It kept the designation from its agricultural beginnings, and it is the largest town in Florida by population - roughly 112,000 by the latest US Census Bureau estimate. The name matters less than what it reflects: a place that grew out of farming and horses rather than platted subdivisions.
Can you really keep horses in Davie?
In parts of it, yes. Davie retains an equestrian tradition with an extensive trail network - the area promotes over 165 miles of trails - and zoning in some sections allows horses. Whether a particular parcel does is a zoning and land-use question for the town, and it should be confirmed in writing before you buy on that basis.
What kinds of homes are in Davie?
A genuinely wide range: acreage parcels and equestrian properties, conventional single-family neighborhoods, newer gated communities with lakes, and townhouses and condominiums closer to the university campuses. Two houses of the same size can carry very different value depending on lot, zoning and water.
I inherited a property in Davie. What are my options?
Sell it, hold and rent it if the zoning and any association rules allow, or transfer it to a family member. Which is open to you depends on how it was titled and whether it must pass through probate, where a personal representative generally needs court authority before closing. Have a Florida attorney confirm the process for your situation.