North Strabane Housing Market Strong
 A steady rate of residential and commercial construction is attracting house hunters and business owners to North Strabane Township, a 27-square-mile area that is already home to more than 10,000 residents.
The development boom has kept Paulette Moyar, planning coordinator and assistant township manager, on her toes. Between 2002 and 2006, she issued building permits for 508 single-family homes and 339 multi-family dwellings.
The names of some recently approved neighborhoods describe a community that is suburban with a quaint, country charm: Meadowlake, Summerbrooke, Weavertown Woodlands, Concord Green, Foxchase, Majestic Hills, Surrey Estates, Sandy Brae and Waterdam Farms.
Nearly half of all land in the township is classified as agricultural.
Municipal officials are working hard to strike a balance between developing the land and not sacrificing its rural character. Within the past five years, North Strabane has updated its Comprehensive Plan and adopted a new zoning ordinance to preserve wetlands and forested areas.
"Both documents address the fact that we wish to remain rural in character well into the future," Moyar says.
In addition to country living within close proximity to metropolitan Pittsburgh, residents of North Strabane benefit from low taxes. Due to the boom in construction, the township has not had to raise taxes in a decade. Allegheny County's current property tax fiasco is also luring buyers and businesses to Washington County.
Although national home sale figures dipped by 8.4 percent in 2006 -- the biggest decline since the late 1980s -- Washington County is bouncing back. February was a busy time for Karen Marshall of Keller Williams Realty. By mid-month there were 207 residential listings in North Strabane and Cecil townships which stay on the market for about 70 days.
“We have a lot of move-up buyers, transferees, empty nesters buying our carriage home products as well as Allegheny County transplants,” Marshall says. “We have always had a lot of young families who like new construction as well. A number of original Washington County homeowners stay within the communities and move up or to another part of Washington County."
According to the National Association of Realtors, the median price of a home in the United States is about $222,000. In North Strabane, the price is slightly above the national average at $227,935, while single-family homes in Cecil clock in at $241,523. Townhomes hover between $150,000 and $161,000.
“The townships are becoming much more in tune and cognizant of controlling the development in these areas for the betterment of the townships’ infrastructure, schools, roads and open spaces,” Marshall says. “The boards are doing a great job by overseeing developers and what is best for their communities.”
Both communities, as well as Canonsburg, are part of the Canon-McMillan School District, which is another major draw to the area. More than 4,200 students occupy seven elementary schools, two middle schools and a high school. All of the school buildings have been recently renovated.
|
