| Cecil County is beginning to
draw the interest of more homeowners from the
Baltimore area. They are excited about finding a
rural area with more-affordable house prices. Last
year realtors sold 920 existing homes, up from
the 705 homes sold in 1997. In 1998, 537 building
permits were issued, the most since 1990,
according to the Metropolitan Regional
Information Systems.
As Harford County runs out of
developable lots in the next year, it will
increase the interest in Cecil County, according
to Bill Luther, president of Gemcraft Homes. He
states that Cecil County is the next logical
market for all of us.
Baltimore land developer,
Morris Wolf, has plans to begin grading land
early in '99 for a 400-month, golf course
community on 350 acres between Interstate 95 and
U.S. 40 near Elkton. Geared toward second-home
buyers, people who want the benefit of living
next to a golf course, and empty nesters, houses
in the yet-unnames community will start at
$150,000. Wolf states that they are able to offer
a lot more in Cecil County than an area closer to
Baltimore or Wilmington. Land costs in Cecil
range from $30,000 to $40,000 for an acre as
compared to $60,000 and $80,000 in Harford and
Baltimore counties. Cecil County is
"unique" in that the land prices are
good for the tri-state market, according to Jim
Joyce, president of the Baltimore division of
Ryland Homes.
Cecil County's drive time to
Baltimore is 60 minutes, 25 minutes to
Wilmington, and 35 minutes to Philadelphia.
Because Cecil County is closer to Wilmington than
Baltimore, it's considered part of the
Wilmington-area market on surveys - meaning none
of the development under way in Cecil is showing
up on Baltimore-area sales reports.
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