Looking at a nice new community on which to build a 2000 sq ft ranch in a
development of about 200 homes ranging in price from 230,000 to 390,000.
Across from the soon to be second entrance, grading and sewer/water pipe
activity has commenced along some soon to be paved dirt and gravel roads. I
recently learned that our local (Charlotte, NC) Habitat for Humanity has
purchased land on which to place homes.

I am curious as what effect (if any) this would have on home values in the
immediate area. There are two higher end developments 1/2 and a full mile up
the road and three other communities of new homes in the 135,000 to the
200,000 range within the same stretch.

Are there any deed restrictions or square footage requirements in this
community? If not, there is nothing to keep anyone from putting
anything they want on these lots anyway. If there is, the Habitat
folks likely have to comply with the restrictions. Unrestricted
property is fine when you have enough of it to keep a good distance
from your neighbors, but small unrestricted lots likely won't keep
pace with rectricted lots in terms of property values. The one thing
that would concern me about that many habitat homes is how much they
resell for. If they have less features or square footage they could
pull down the average cost per square foot of real estate in your
neighborhood. This means when you go to sell you might not get as
much per square foot as you could get for the same house you had build
up the road in a neighborhood of houses with three car garages and
swimming pools. If you are planning on building a house with about
the same size and features as the habitat homes, then you will likely
benefit from having neighbors that have already shown a commitment to
working on their houses.

- James B