Camden is increasingly a place where people want to live, according to new analysis released by Axios.
The report, in which Axios analyzed data from the real estate website Zillow, found that the Top 3 ZIP codes with the greatest home appreciation in the Philadelphia metro area are located in the city of Camden.
ZIP code 08104 saw an increase of 33% from August last year; those in 08102 saw price increases of 23%; and in ZIP code 08105, prices jumped by 21%.
The findings shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Camden has been continuing one of the most remarkable renaissances of an American city in history.
“This new analysis from Axios underscores the tangible impacts of what could be one of the greatest comeback stories of a city in the nation,” said Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen, who was first elected to a full term in 2021. “As someone who was born and bred in this city, the future has never been brighter for Camden and her residents. Every corner of the city has seen new public and private investments that are driving up the value of property here as my administration continues to build a better community.”
The demand for housing follows nationally lauded public safety improvements, education reforms and investments in job creation, as well as unprecedented investment in the city’s neighborhoods and quality of life.
“The fact that Camden housing is in increasing demand and attracting higher prices won’t be a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention — Camden has had one of the most remarkable turnarounds in our country’s history, and the appreciation in housing costs is a clear sign that what we have been doing is working to make Camden a place people want to live,” said George E. Norcross III, chairman of Cooper University Health Care/MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper, which recently announced a $2 billion expansion of the award winning health care system. “Safe streets. Good schools. Great health care. A growing jobs base. An increasing number of amenities for residents, workers and visitors. That’s today’s Camden and why Cooper is so proud to be part of our hometown’s past, present and future.”
Here are a few of the major benchmarks cited by Norcross and Carstarphen that have contributed to the increased demand for housing:
- According to the nationally recognized, annually published Uniform Crime Report, the city is the safest it has been in 50 years, and the police department has been lauded as a symbol of community policing and engagement worldwide;
- Approximately $3 billion in capital investments have been made since 2012, with an estimated total economic impact of $4.2 billion, and the workforce in the city has grown by almost 30% since 2017;
- $615 million has been invested to build new K-12 schools and rehabilitate existing ones, and the number of college-ready students has climbed from three in 2011 to 400 students at last year’s college signing day;
- Over $366 million has been invested to improve the housing stock in Camden, with over 1,000 market-rate and affordable homes being built or rehabilitated;
- $100 million in park projects have been completed or are underway to ensure residents have access to some of the best open spaces in the state, including a new crown jewel to its park system: the $45 million Cramer Hill Waterfront Park; and
- The city recently received an A- bond rating, the highest in over 50 years and up from junk bond status just 10 years ago.
