Developers of gated communities are discovering that high-end buyers are attracted to neighborhoods with more land, more privacy, and fewer occupants,
The Wall Street Journal reports. “There are lots of people who are looking for a golf course development without the golf course,” conservation planner Randall Adrendt told the
Journal. “You can lure them with open space, woodlands, meadows, and home sites that back up to wetlands so they can hear the ‘peepers.’”
Developments offering a more private, serene lifestyle are popping up in greater numbers across the country. In a 300-acre gated community near Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park, there are 36 home sites on five acres to 20 acres each. Residents of the community, called Allegheny Cove, can pick blueberries and apples in shared orchards, canoe on the lake, or enjoy a guest log cabin near a waterfall. David Connors, sales manager for Allegheny Cove, says that home purchases in the community slumped right after the recession. But sales and home prices there are increasing again along with demand for a private gated community.
Out West, some developers are creating destination ranch communities with expansive homesteads. “It has to be a really spectacular piece of property,” says Jim Taylor, principal and partner at Hall and Hall, a brokerage specializing in ranch properties. “When [developers] have tried to do this on properties that were not spectacular, they have failed. The other thing that seems to be a better guarantor of success is if it’s near a major ski area.”
At Ulery’s Lakes, a 655-acre gated retreat in Big Sky, Mont., owners can enjoy hiking, horseback riding, and fishing within the gated community, which is a preserve that lies in a major migratory path for elk. Residents can boat and fish in a private alpine lake and two stocked trout ponds. They can also rent ski lockers in Moonlight Lodge.
However, these communities can come with a level of isolation that’s not for everyone. Gated communities tend to be farther away from medical services, retailers, and grocery stores.
Source: “The New Gated Community: More Land, Fewer Neighbors,” The Wall Street Journal (Aug. 24, 2017) [Login required.]
