Pittsfield Township new home construction (Kirtland Hills is pictured here) is among the most active in Southeast Michigan.
Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com
Pittsfield Township ranks in the top 10 Southeast Michigan communities with the most residential building activity, according to data compiled by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.
Pittsfield Township — which is experiencing a spike in new construction after years of sluggish activity — ranked seven out of 10 among communities with the most residential building permits filed last year.
“Pittsfield Township covers two of your hotter (real estate) markets in the county: Ann Arbor and Saline,” said local homebuilder Jim Haeussler of Peters Building Co. “You get some of the amenities of Ann Arbor with township taxes.”
There were 107 new homes constructed in Pittsfield Township last year — a seven-year high and also a steady increase from the 33 homes built in 2009.
Haeussler, along with national builders like Toll Brothers, are building on already-developed lots in the township and completing projects that were started years ago.
Pittsfield Township also has available land and the values are attractive to builders, said Colliers International’s Richard Timmons.
“I think the big draw is that there is land there, and there are projects that did get started and there are some developed lots there already,” Timmons said. “Some of the banks foreclosed on those and resold them at lower values.”
Maureen Sloan, CEO of the Builders & Remodelers Association of Greater Ann Arbor, agreed, saying: (Pittsfield Township) had lots that were ready to go when the downturn occurred.”
Last year, Toll Brothers made an offer to developer Louis Johnson to build on 24 lots in The Pines at Lake Forest, a Pittsfield Township property near Ellsworth and Maple roads. Meanwhile, Haeussler said he’s currently building on his last remaining lot in the Kirtland Hills subdivision.
Regionally, Macomb Township led Southeast Michigan last year with 497 new homes constructed. Other areas seeing increased activity include Canton Township, Oakland Township, Troy and Shelby Township.
Washtenaw County builders also report increased building activity in Saline and Dexter. Doug Selby of Ann Arbor’s Meadowlark Builders said he’s seeing demand for homes in Superior Township and the Loch Alpine subdivision northwest of Ann Arbor.
“There is a lot of pressure (in those areas),” he said. “There’s definitely strong interest in land and existing houses.”
Here’s a look at how the number of residential building permits stacked up in certain areas of Washtenaw County last year:
- Ann Arbor: 9
- Ann Arbor Township: 3
- Ypsilanti: 1
- Ypsilanti Township: 19
- Chelsea: 13
- Dexter: 31
- Dexter Township: 20
- Pittsfield Township: 107
- Saline: 7
- Scio Township: 27
Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at 734-623-2584 or email her at lizzyalfs@annarbor.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lizzyalfs.