By Paul Schwedelson – Reporter, Philadelphia Business Journal
Oct 8, 2023
Toll Brothers bought 21 acres of undeveloped land in Quakertown for $3.9 million, property records show, another sign of the homebuilder’s confidence in the Philadelphia region.
The Fort Washington-based homebuilder plans to build 38 single-family homes, according to plans submitted to Richland Township.
A spokesperson for Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) said site improvements are planned to begin “very soon” for the Bucks County property along East Paletown Road. The location is just over 2 miles from downtown Quakertown and 17 miles from Allentown.
Toll Brothers bought the site from Feasterville-based developer Trinity Realty Cos., which property records show bought the site from Prudential Bank for $1.7 million in May 2022.
While single-family homes line East Paletown Road, the undeveloped parcel stretches behind those. South of the Toll Brothers site, homebuilder Lennar is building Reserve at Woodside Creek, a development with 74 homes.
“It is truly our driving force to find the best locations, what we call Main and Main,” Toll Brothers Pennsylvania and Delaware Division President John Dean said in a September interview regarding the company’s strategy.
Elsewhere in the region, Toll Brothers is working on at least three other housing developments:
Toll Brothers plans to open Preserve at Marsh Creek and Bellflower for sale this fall and Anfield in the spring. They will join more than 20 Toll Brothers developments in the region that are already open for sale.
As Toll Brothers has posted record home sales revenue this year, Dean said he’s “very pleased” with sales and demand in the region, noting it’s the builder’s backyard.
“It’s always been an important market for the company,” Dean said. “We’ve always had a strong presence in this region.”
Toll Brothers has benefited from low inventory and a tight resale market, which is pushing some buyers to shift their focus to new construction homes.
In the third quarter, speculative home building made up 28% of Toll’s deliveries and 40% of sales nationally. Dean said the Pennsylvania and Delaware market is consistent with the national trend.
Dean said some speculative homes could be ready for a buyer to move in within 30 to 45 days, a significantly shorter timeline than for buyers who commit to Toll Brothers before a home’s foundation is laid.
Toll Brothers has also found success locally through its varied types of homes, Dean said, citing active adult communities and a mix of detached and attached homes.
While Dean acknowledged the Philadelphia region isn’t experiencing population growth like other regions in the country such as the Southeast and West, he said the area sees a lot of “strategic relocations.” Since the start of the pandemic, Dean said homes have become more important because they’ve moonlighted as workplaces, too.
Dean has observed a shift in which homebuyers focus more on where they want to live rather than trying to be close to where they work.
“We’re very optimistic about our growth, not only in this region but in the company,” Dean said.
