Haywood County Is Growing. Before You Blame the Developers, Read This.

By Jon Tharp, Broker  ·  May 17, 2026

A letter published in The Mountaineer this week cut against the grain of Haywood County's ongoing development debate: the people moving into those new DR Horton subdivisions aren't the problem. And neither, the letter argues, is DR Horton.

Marshall Casse, writing from Waynesville, pushed back on the idea that developers are villains in this story. His argument is simpler than the heated rhetoric around it: builders build what buyers want to buy. If you want to understand why new subdivisions are going up on land that used to grow crops, start with demand. The developer is downstream of that.

That's a point worth sitting with. Haywood County had close to 80,000 acres of farmland four decades ago. Today that number is under 50,000. The change didn't happen because developers decided one morning to transform the county. It happened because people wanted to live here, and that desire has only intensified since.

That pressure hasn't let up. The median sale price of a home in Haywood County is now around $415,000, up more than 10 percent from a year ago. A recent regional housing survey found more than a third of Western NC residents worried about their ability to pay for housing. Those two facts exist in real tension, and they are not going away on their own.

DR Horton's model, which Casse compared to Henry Ford's assembly-line approach to manufacturing, is one response to that tension. The company builds at scale, using standardized floorplans and efficient construction methods to bring prices down to a range more buyers can reach. In this market, the typical DR Horton home runs 1,400 to 1,600 square feet. That is not a luxury product. It is a starter home for someone who works in the county and wants to own instead of rent.

That doesn't mean the conversation about growth is simple, or that every concern people raise is unfounded. Longtime residents watching pastures turn into cul-de-sacs have legitimate things to mourn. The character of a mountain valley changes when rows of new houses go in where cattle used to graze. The loss of farmland is measurable and real, and those concerns deserve a serious place in the debate.

But Casse's letter raises a question worth asking out loud: if the community wants slower growth, what does it want to do about the people who cannot find housing they can afford right now? Restricting development without addressing demand does not reduce the pressure. It shifts it, usually onto the people with the fewest options.

The development conversation in Haywood County is going to keep going. The county is on a lot of radars right now, not just from homebuilders but from retirees and remote workers looking for a quieter pace of life in the mountains. The question for county officials and residents isn't really whether growth happens. It's how they decide to shape it.

One voice from Waynesville this week put it plainly. Whether you agree with him or not, the argument is worth engaging seriously.

If you've been watching Haywood County's growth and want to understand what it actually means for buyers and sellers on the ground right now, Jon Tharp can walk you through what he's seeing.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is DR Horton building homes in Haywood County, NC?

Yes. DR Horton has been active in Haywood County, with new communities listed in and around Waynesville. The national builder uses a high-volume, standardized construction model to keep prices more accessible than custom or semi-custom builders. As of early 2026, there are roughly 61 new homes for sale in Haywood County at a median listing price around $425,000. DR Horton's entry-level product in this market typically runs 1,400 to 1,600 square feet, positioned as attainable housing for buyers who want to own rather than rent.

What is the average home price in Haywood County, NC right now?

The median sale price in Haywood County was approximately $415,000 as of early 2026, up about 10.5 percent year over year. New construction listings in the county are clustered around $425,000. Prices have risen steadily over the past several years as demand from retirees, remote workers, and second-home buyers has outpaced available inventory. The market remains competitive relative to other mountain communities in the region, with well-priced homes still moving quickly.

How much farmland has Haywood County lost to development?

Haywood County had close to 80,000 acres of farmland roughly four decades ago. That number has fallen to under 50,000 acres today, a loss of more than 37 percent. The decline reflects both development pressure and broader agricultural trends, including farming families selling land rather than passing it on. The conversion of valley farmland to residential subdivisions has become a visible and actively debated part of the county's growth story, with national builders like DR Horton among the buyers approaching landowners in recent years.

Is housing affordable in Western North Carolina?

Housing affordability is a growing concern across Western North Carolina. A recent regional survey found more than one-third of respondents worried about their ability to pay for housing, with Haywood County residents reporting lower confidence than the regional average. Rising home prices, driven by strong in-migration demand from retirees and remote workers, have pushed median prices above what many local wage earners can afford. New construction from volume builders represents one market response to that gap, though supply has not kept pace with demand in most WNC counties.

Who is responsible for growth and development decisions in Haywood County?

Development in Haywood County is shaped by a combination of market forces, private landowner decisions, and county planning and zoning regulations. Landowners choose whether to sell to developers, developers respond to buyer demand, and county commissioners set the rules around density, land use, and subdivision approvals. Critics who focus on developers as the primary driver often overlook that landowners initiate most transactions and that buyers ultimately create the demand that makes development profitable. Changes to growth patterns require policy responses, not just criticism of any single actor in the chain.