First the Chatham County commissioners imposed a moratorium on residential construction of developments with 26 or more homes. This will screen out homebuyers as the supply is limited and prices rise. But that anti-homebuyer action isn’t enough. Now the board is looking at increasing the minimum lot size from 1.5 acres to somewhere between 2 and 5 acres. If approved, that will drive up the price of a home even further. The result? Chatham County will become another Chapel Hill: largely off limits to middle class North Carolinians. Meantime, in an interesting irony, the Chatham County town of Pittsboro, which is not affected by the county building moratorium, needs more residents to fix its ailing water system.
by donnamartinez