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Community building

Building social communities

Home is the foundation of family life and community for many of us. Social ties with neighbors and the wider community can be one of the important yet often-forgotten benefits of homeownership. Studies show that social connectedness isn’t just “nice to have,” it’s important for health and well-being.*

Personal investment in local community
By building new neighborhoods where people come together with a shared experience of creating their dream home from the ground up, we can give our homeowners a feeling of personal investment in their new neighborhood, which can be the foundation for lasting bonds.

Recreational facilities promote community bonding and a healthier lifestyle
To support these goals, we design, on both a required or voluntary basis, community amenities like shared recreational facilities, parks, playgrounds, gardens and/ or walking trails into many of our neighborhoods, which provide opportunities for engagement with neighbors as well as promote a healthier lifestyle. This can be particularly attractive to first-time homeowners coming from apartments without easy access to the outdoors.

Investing in the long-term success of the communities in which we build

Community building goes beyond strengthening an area’s social fabric. Strong communities require the physical and systems infrastructure to support both current and future residents. We are proud to work with local governments, school districts, utilities and community organizations to contribute toward building schools, roads, utilities and other key infrastructure. Many of these are required, while others are voluntary aspects of our community development and design. Each demonstrates to local stakeholders that we are making a durable investment in their community. We believe that this makes us better citizens of the areas in which we build and also may provide us with an advantage when local land sellers and governments are considering project approvals.

Contributing to local economic resiliency

New-home communities and new homeowners also support the communities surrounding their neighborhoods in being more economically resilient and socially supported places in which to build lives and families.1 Both the job growth associated with the construction of new homes and the economic impact of new homeowners, often with growing families, help to create thriving local communities.

The housing market is a key engine of growth for both the national and local economies. We see building new housing stock as a form of community investment and infrastructure that contributes to long-term social and economic benefits, including:

  • Each new single-family home built is estimated to create the equivalent of approximately three new jobs for a year.2
  • New homeowners spend, on average, an additional $4,500 on home-related purchases like furniture and other household goods in the first two years compared to non-moving homeowners.3
  • New homebuyers support the local economy, becoming new customers for area businesses, including grocery stores, restaurants, dry cleaners and gardening services.

*Martino J, Pegg J, Frates EP. The Connection Prescription: Using the Power of Social Interactions and the Deep Desire for Connectedness to Empower Health and Wellness. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2015 Oct 7
1National Association of Realtors®, Research Division, Social Benefits of Homeownership and Stable Housing, December 2016
2National Association of Home Builders, Eye on Housing, How Home Building Can Lead a Recovery by Generating Jobs, April 2020
3Source: National Association of Home Builders study, 2015