Why Young Homebuyers Should Consider Collingswood
This happening South Jersey town — only 15 minutes from Center City — is a study in downtown revival.
Photograph by Jeff Fusco
Shaking things up
“People want to live in Collingswood. We have a whole new generation moving here,” says Main Street Realty’s Pam Ciervo. The firm she and her husband Patric run has attracted new cohorts with hooks like marketing to LGBTQ clients.
Town stat: The median home value in Collingswood is $244,300.
And when they get here, they find it’s not all single-family homes: The Collings at the Lumberyard is a 104-unit mixed-use condo and apartment complex on the site of a former lumberyard right on Haddon Avenue, just blocks from the PATCO station. Ingerman, which built and manages the development, was so pleased with the result that it moved its headquarters there.
Family focus
It’s no secret that Jersey can be an expensive place to live. Collingswood is still affordable compared to neighboring towns Cherry Hill and Haddonfield, the latter of which has a median home listing price that’s 160 percent higher. (One reason might be Collingswood’s lower-rated schools.)
Town stat: Home values in Collingswood have increased 13.7 percent in the past year.
Still, the community boasts a young population (44 percent of residents are under age 35), a booming downtown, a good public library, four large parks, playgrounds, family programming like movie nights, and a responsive borough government.
Jersey fresh
The Collingswood Farmers’ Market — now in its 19th year — is the oldest of its kind in South Jersey and is credited with reviving the eight-block business district. The downtown now has coffee shops (Grooveground Coffee Bar), two-dozen-plus BYOBs (including Philly Mag 50 Best Restaurants Zeppoli and Hearthside), and the two-year-old Devil’s Creek Brewery, despite the fact it’s a dry town.
Town stat: Home values in Collingswood have increased 18 percent over the past five years.
There’s quality shopping, too, with vintage shops, toy stores, and home and clothing stores like Dig This and Callie Boutique.
Published as “Living In: Collingswood” in the September 2018 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
