Making a Case for Master-Planned Communities

Homes in master-planned communities (MPC) show a deep track record of outperforming homes outside an MPC for reasons based on everyday expenses, amenities, location, schools, and safety, according to a recent report from John Burns Consulting.

Amenities and lifestyle helped buyers justify the higher monthly payments to buy a home in an MPC, according to the report.

While these homes cost more, they tend to recover in value faster than others during difficult economic periods such as the “immense distress of the Great Financial Crisis,” write Burns consultants Jody Kahn, Devyn Bachman, Nicole Stadick, and Dillan Krieg.

“They also show greater resilience to and recovery from housing corrections,” the report said.

Amenities and Lifestyle are Ideal for Many

MPC homes enable their owners to drop things such as gym memberships, as they can take advantage of the amenities the MPC provides. These communities also have high-performing schools, meaning owners can forgo paying for private schools.

Owners here also are fine with smaller yards, because the community itself offers additional common area spaces.

Looking at options in the home market overall, buyers are attracted to MPCs, which “offer a broad array of home and lot sizes, densities, and price points, giving buyers the flexibility to choose homes to fit their budgets,” the report said.

Facing recent high inflation brought on by actions from the Federal Reserve, MPC new home sales slowed much less than new home sales nationally, John Burns Consulting reported.

Many MPCs are in the Sunbelt, which has been a major hotbed for home values in recent years.

“The prestige of living in an upscale neighborhood and feeling a sense of safety through neighbors watching out for each other” are two more reasons the authors cited.

Enhancing Density, Increasing Affordability

Ken Perlman, a national master-planned community expert and head of consulting in the West for John Burns Real Estate Consulting, sees top developers looking for creative ways to enhance density and increase affordability.

In prepared comments, he noted, “Outdoor spaces and amenities can offset the need for larger homes and home sites. In a recent New Home Trends Institute survey, 41% of homeowners said they do not need a large private yard if given access to common outdoor spaces.”