On April 3, 2026, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported that Forestar Group, a subsidiary of national homebuilder D.R. Horton, paid $11.6 million to acquire a 43-acre wooded site in Parkesburg Borough that carries approval for 323 townhomes. The project, called Parke Mansion Estates, has a history that goes back to 2005, when the land was first envisioned as a commercial development to replace a former quarry. That commercial plan never materialized, and in 2009 the township approved a revised version that removed the commercial component and focused entirely on residential development. Those approvals have been extended every five years since.

For buyers and sellers in western Chester County, this is a development worth paying close attention to. D.R. Horton is not a local speculative developer. It is the largest homebuilder in the United States by volume, and its subsidiary Forestar Group exists specifically to acquire and entitle land for future D.R. Horton communities. When Forestar spends $11.6 million to acquire a fully approved site, construction is the intention.

Parkesburg Borough sits within the Octorara Area School District, which serves a cross-county footprint in western Chester County and parts of Lancaster County. It is among Chester County's most affordable markets, with a median home value around $343,435. That affordability profile, combined with D.R. Horton's known price positioning as a volume builder targeting entry and mid-range buyers, strongly suggests the Parke Mansion Estates townhomes will be priced in a range that fills a genuine gap in the market. D.R. Horton does not build luxury product. It builds attainable housing at scale, and in a county where the median home price has crossed $500,000 and entry-level supply is thin, 323 new townhomes in a western community accessible to Route 30 represent a meaningful addition.

Buyers who have been priced out of Downingtown and Exton but want Chester County access need to understand what this development signals. Parkesburg has rail access through the nearby SEPTA line, is fifteen minutes east of the Route 30 toward Downingtown, and is receiving real private investment for the first time in this project's two-decade history. The Forestar acquisition confirms that a sophisticated national capital allocator sees enough demand in this submarket to commit over eleven million dollars to a single site before a single foundation is poured.

Three hundred and twenty-three new townhomes entering a market that has historically been thin will increase competition among sellers in the short term. D.R. Horton has a marketing and financing infrastructure that smaller resale sellers cannot match. New construction typically comes with rate buydowns, builder incentives, and model homes that create powerful buyer attraction. Resale sellers in the same price range will need to be sharper on price, presentation, and terms than they might otherwise have been.

Let’s move Pennsylvania forward.