Camden affordable housing investments lead to uptick in home values
CAMDEN, NJ - Camden is a city that once ranked among the most dangerous in New Jersey.
Niw, the city is on the come up as it's investing in affordable housing, leading to a big increase in home values.
What we know:
A 2024 report from Axios found that Camden, NJ had the top three zip codes with the greatest home appreciations in the Philadelphia Metro area.
The report says Camden’s market rate housing prices are up 40 percent since last year, while offering the lowest average property taxes in New Jersey.
Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen says, "It’s beautiful for our community, our residents to know that this type of housing market can exist".
Over the years, the city of Camden has been investing in affordable housing and market rate housing.
City leaders unveiled one of those new market rate houses in Camden Wednesday afternoon.
"I never thought I would actually purchase one day in the city," said the new homeowner.
The site of the new property was originally where a single unit home was destroyed by fire.
Back in the 90’s the city deemed it unsafe and demolished it.
After nearly 30 years of the city being left with the burden of costs to maintain and secure the vacant property, city-funded programs helped it be developed, and is now two new market rate homes.
"This is something that’s happening around our city in different communities. A lot of good people are just having a vision to create opportunities like this beautiful townhome," said Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen.
What's next:
The goal is to continue to offer these types of housing in Camden to bring people back to the city.
"I never thought that I would find a home like this in Camden, just because of the misconception of what Camden used to be, that’s the thing, people don’t understand that times have changed," said the new homeowner.
The Source: The information in this story is from Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen and the new homeowner.