Real Estate
New Home Construction Up in Moorestown
It's not back up to pre-recession levels—not even close, according to a recent report—but the residential real estate market is on the upswing.
After several lackluster years, Moorestown's real estate market is beginning to bounce back.
According to a recent report from NJ Spotlight, there was a 38 percent increase in the number of homes built in New Jersey from 2009 to 2012.
NJ Spotlight's interactive map breaks new home construction—reflected by the number of residential building permits issued—down by municipality. According to their information, six building permits were issued for single-family homes through May of this year—up from four total in 2012.
However, Tom Ford, the township's community developer director, said the news is even more encouraging than that.
Ford's gauge for measuring the relative health of the residential real estate market is the number of certificates of occupancy the township issues. A certificate is issued each time a new home is occupied.
To get a sense of how the market is improving (and how bad things were), check out these numbers provided by Ford:
- 2005 — 38 certificates of occupancy issued
- 2006 — 52
- 2007 — 40
- 2008 — 17
- 2009 — 6
- 2010 — 7
- 2011 — 12
- 2012 — 12
"It does look like things are picking back up," he remarked.
Ford also noted the new home construction either approved or already underway around town: the Toll Brothers Mews at Laurel Creek development off Centerton Road (122 age-restricted units); Canton Custom Homes is building 13 homes off East Third Street by the Public Works building; and the eight Willowbrook homes under construction by the country club (the site plan calls for a total of 27).
"There's a lot more residential development going on," said Ford. "A lot (of these projects) were on hiatus during the recession."
Last year, 17,939 residential units were authorized statewide, an increase from 12,952 in 2011, NJ Spotlight reported. Residential construction saw a real low in 2009 at 12,421, the lowest number of permits issued in more than two decades. The pre-recession high was in 2005, when 38,588 new housing units were authorized throughout the state.
Keep up on all the latest news around town. Sign up for the Moorestown Patch newsletter and follow us on Facebook and on Twitter.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
