Totteridge’s majority owners are, of course, taking full ownership and continuing to develop the residential community

Zoltan and Patrick Cendes helped build 100 patio homes and 30 single-family homes in the Totteridge Golf Course residential development in Salem in 2015 since they became majority owners.

This month, they acquired full ownership of the more than 500-acre property while completing construction of 30 new homes, said Patrick Cendes, president of real estate at Totteridge.

Cendes said most of those apartments have already been sold, except for seven that are available or still under construction.

Prices for single-family homes in the apartment community range from $700,000 to $1.4 million, Cendes said. Patio homes start at just under $400,000.

By the time the sewage system is expanded on the site, Totteridge will have built 40 additional patio homes. Cendes said Totteridge also plans to seek approval for 45 1-acre parcels overlooking the sixth and seventh holes of the golf course.

Cendes expects to finalize approval for additional homes and a sewer expansion within the next year.

Totteridge began as a private, members-only golf course in 2001 and opened to the public in 2009.

The golf course played about 30,000 rounds last season, said Brian Fritz, director of golf operations. He added that this represents an increase of approximately 2,000 units compared to 2022.

Fritz, who has been with Totteridge since 2013, has seen a steady increase in the number of rounds played annually over the past decade, with a noticeable increase during the pandemic.

“Golf in general has had a big boom during Covid,” he said. “It was the only acceptable way to meet up with your mates for a while. You can go out to the golf course and still meet people.

Fritz said about 200 people could be on the golf course on Saturday if the weather is good. Holiday weekends – from Friday to Monday – attract nearly 1,000 golfers.

Housing options available in Totteridge a decade ago were modest, Fritz said.

“At the moment we have limited ourselves to a few plots that are still available for sale. Coach houses… have doubled in size,” he said. “Golf course – we tend to maintain properties in the community. We don’t have time for that just because there are so many facilities to do.”

Fritz said the increase in golf course traffic has contributed to Totteridge’s real estate success.

“People who come and play golf and see the houses being built, the empty lots for sale, they start to get interested,” he said.

About 90 golf courses closed nationwide last year, according to a February report from the National Golf Foundation. According to the foundation, this was the lowest number of closures in about two decades.

According to the foundation, after a surge in golf course openings in 2000, there has been a net decline in golf course availability since 2005. The highest net decline – the loss of approximately 250 golf courses – was recorded in 2019.

Cendes said the availability of many amenities in Totteridge – including walking paths, a clubhouse and a swimming pool – has kept the number of properties growing steadily.

“It’s not just that you move here and you’re going to play golf every day, but you have to play golf,” Cendes said. “We’ve found that a lot of people with young children… just like having a golf course in their backyard.”

Over the past year, Totteridge has added speakers, outdoor furniture and a fire pit to the club space. Food trucks come every Tuesday.

“I think the separation of the golf course from the community in that sense is a unique feature,” Cendes said.