If two houses list the same week, both with Lewis Center addresses and both in the Olentangy Local School District, are they really competing with the same homes?
Lewis Center sits mostly in Orange Township and Berlin Township, and the two have been adding homes at very different rates. In 2025, Delaware County Regional Planning Commission permit data shows Orange Township issued 46 single-family building permits. Berlin Township issued 161. A year earlier the gap was wider still, with 29 permits in Orange and 190 in Berlin. The mailing address is the same on both sides, but the supply story behind it is different.
The Pipeline Behind Those Permits
Permits only count homes that are about to start. The planning commission also tracks every single-family lot moving toward construction. That includes land the township has zoned, lots at sketch-plan review, lots with a preliminary plat, and recorded lots where nothing has been built yet. Here is how the two townships stood at the end of 2025, according to the DCRPC's Orange Township and Berlin Township pipeline charts. Multifamily units are excluded from both.
| Year-end 2025, single-family lots | Orange Township | Berlin Township |
|---|---|---|
| Newly zoned by the township | 23 | 1,000 |
| Sketch plan reviewed | 0 | 337 |
| Preliminary lots | 543 | 1,198 |
| Final approved lots | 0 | 122 |
| Recorded but not yet built | 121 | 245 |
| Total available lots | 687 | 2,902 |
| Total available lots, 2005 | 1,605 | 746 |
The last row shows the 20-year trend. Orange started 2005 with more than twice Berlin's lot supply and has spent the years since using it up. Berlin went the other way and now holds roughly four times Orange's pipeline. In 2025 alone, Berlin Township zoned 1,000 new lots. Orange Township zoned 23.
The two counts cover the whole township, and not every lot in Berlin Township carries a Lewis Center address. Berlin Farm West, for example, is near Berlin Station Road. The direction holds anyway. Most new detached supply in this part of Delaware County is being added on the Berlin side.
Orange Township Keeps Holding the Line on Density
Orange's planning policy is part of the reason its pipeline is thin. The township's comprehensive plan, adopted in 2018, sets a maximum of 2 units per acre in single-family districts. Projects that go above that have struggled this year.
One 8.34-acre parcel on the west side of South Old State Road shows how. It sits north of Orange Road and is bordered by the Glen Oak and Summerfield Village subdivisions. In February 2026, a proposal called Hidden Oaks asked for 21 single-family lots there. The Delaware Gazette reported that the Regional Planning Commission denied it, with staff citing density:
"Staff recommends approval of the single-family use at a lower density."
A 17-lot version on the same 8.34 acres, called Oak Knoll, came back in June. The township zoning commission recommended denial 3-2, and the trustees denied it 2-1 on Aug. 12, according to a later Gazette update. At the same Aug. 12 meeting, trustees approved an 18.6-acre rezoning on Home Road by the same 2-1 margin. It was described at its hearing as a lot split.
A few larger Orange projects remain in the pipeline. Oakwood Reserve, formerly called Aurora Farms, received preliminary approval in October 2025 for 68 single-family lots on 23.901 acres. Inside the Orange portion of Evans Farm, the Courtyards at Evans Farm plan was amended on March 4, 2025, to 144 detached condominium units plus 15 lots. Small infill keeps getting trimmed or turned down, though, and that matters to anyone selling an established Orange Township home. It means fewer new houses showing up a few streets away.
Some of Orange's New Houses Are Rentals
Orange's 2025 permit total had one more number. Alongside 46 single-family permits, the township issued 114 multifamily permits, the highest count of any unincorporated township in the county that year.
Among the multifamily projects the Regional Planning Commission reviewed in Orange in 2025 was Marigold, which it classifies as 120 multifamily units. Its developer, Onyx+East, markets the project as Mural Lewis Center. The developer describes it as a 120-home, build-to-rent single-family community on 31 acres next to Evans Farm, with two-, three- and four-bedroom homes along a creek. It lists the project as under construction, with a $47 million investment.
For a buyer, this means new detached houses are going up in Orange Township, but some are being built for rent and will not reach the for-sale market. A Lewis Center resale on the Orange side mostly competes with other resales. A household that rents first and buys later now has another option close to home.
Evans Farm Is Where Most of the New Building Is
Evans Farm spans both townships, with 607 acres in Berlin and 554 in Orange, according to the planning commission's project map. Most of the Lewis Center area's new for-sale detached homes are coming from its Berlin portion.
The Gazette's March roundup of 2025 planning activity lists the most recent sections. Parkside at Evans Farm Section 1 is on the south side of Hollenback Road west of South Old State Road. Arrowhead at Evans Farm Section 1 is east of Piatt Road, north of Hollenback. DCRPC records show 39 lots platted at Parkside and 63 at Arrowhead in 2025.
Next is Norris Acres at Evans Farm Section 1, a 57-lot Maronda Homes subdivision west of Piatt Road and south of Peachblow Road, reached from Piatt by Cedar Crest Street. The commission approved its preliminary plan on Feb. 26, 2026. Its minutes note that a similar 185-lot Evans Farm section is planned just to the south.
Road plans follow the same growth. The Delaware County Engineer's 2026 road guide schedules an $18 million Home Road grade separation over the CSX and Norfolk Southern tracks for 2027 through 2029. The bridge would connect to the Lewis Center Road roundabout near Evans Farm. A resale near Evans Farm will likely compete with new builder sections for years. Buyers there will also be weighing the finishes and warranties of homes built in the same year they buy.
What September's Numbers Say About Leverage
The closest monthly market data for Lewis Center is the Columbus REALTORS® report for the whole Olentangy Local School District. It also covers Powell, parts of Delaware and other areas, so it blends both sides of the township line. The September 2026 district report, released Oct. 13, shows a market that is busier but slower to close:
- Closed sales in September 2026 rose to 148 from 102 a year earlier, up 45.1%.
- The median sale price rose 5.3% to $589,500. Average price per square foot was nearly flat, at $248.61 against $249.44.
- Days on market rose to 41 from 33. Through the first nine months of 2026 the average was 44 days, up from 31.
- Sellers received 96.1% of original list price, down from 97.7%. They received 98.7% of their final list price.
- Inventory was 349 homes, or 2.7 months of supply.
The price per square foot shows what is behind the higher median. Buyers were paying about the same per square foot as last September, so the higher median mostly reflects which homes sold, with more large homes in the mix. The gap between the original-list and final-list figures shows where negotiating happens. Most of a seller's discount came as price cuts before an offer arrived, and smaller concessions at the table. Countywide, the September Delaware County report shows inventory up 17.1% and new listings up 13.1% from a year earlier.
Combine that with the township split. A buyer making an offer this fall near Norris Acres or Arrowhead has two sources of leverage: a slower market overall and builder inventory nearby. A buyer looking at an established Orange Township street has the slower market but fewer substitutes, because Orange's few new detached houses are partly rentals.
Questions to Ask About Any Lewis Center Listing
- Which township is it in? The mailing address won't tell you. County property records will, and the answer shows which pipeline the home competes with.
- How close is the nearest active builder section? Near Evans Farm, a resale's comps may include new construction with builder incentives.
- Has the price been cut since listing? With sellers receiving 96.1% of original list in September, a listing's price history shows how much room is left.
- Is the price per square foot in line with nearby sales? A flat district average means the size of the home explains most of the price.
A Few Questions Buyers Ask
Is the Home Road railroad crossing changing soon? The county's road guide schedules the $18 million Home Road grade separation for 2027 through 2029, connecting to the Lewis Center Road roundabout near Evans Farm.
Did anything on the Nov. 3 ballot affect Orange Township property owners? Voters approved both of Orange Township's 1-mill levies. The township's levy explainer estimates the Parks Renewal Levy at about $80 a year for a home appraised at $400,000. It says the new Roads Levy replaces two 0.5-mill road levies that expire at the end of 2027 and is expected to raise about $2.2 million a year. This is general information, not tax advice. Confirm the effect on a specific property with the Delaware County Auditor or a tax professional.
Is all of Evans Farm in one township? No. Of its acreage, 607 acres are in Berlin Township and 554 are in Orange Township.
If you're weighing a Lewis Center home on the Orange side against one near the Evans Farm builder sections, Angelina Fox-Smith & Company can run an agent-reviewed comparison for each address, including new-construction competition and recent price changes. Schedule a Free Consultation and bring both listings.
