Investigators say it happened around 8 p.m. Thursday on the 2500 block of Academy Avenue in the Holmes section of the township.
Police say the burglar broke a window lock to get in.
"He entered, pried a window open at the rear of the residence and was able to stand on a bucket and get into the residence that way," said Det. Mark Tancredi.
Police say the victim told investigators he chased the suspect out of the home, who jumped the fence and ran down the 300 block of Lawnton Terrace.
The victim went back inside to find he'd been robbed.
The 911 call was made about an hour after the incident.
"The safe was ripped out of the wall and we believe close to $3,000 was taken from the residence," said Tancredi.
Neighbors who were home at the time say they had no idea about the horror that played out down the block.
"I feel like this is a pretty safe community, and I would never expect being on this busy main street here - somebody would just walk in," said Krista Finnegan.
Police are hoping those neighbors will help them out. It's unknown at this point how long the suspect may have been in the home, and detectives are looking for surveillance video of him.
"Just keep a lockout. Just need to watch who's in the neighborhood from now on," said another neighbor.