D.R. Horton moves ahead with new Buncombe County subdivision

D.R. Horton is moving ahead with a new subdivision near Arden after spending roughly $11 million on property across Buncombe County in 2025 and 2026, a clear sign that one of the nation’s largest homebuilders is making a serious local bet rather than a casual land grab.

For Buncombe County, the stakes go beyond another builder announcement. County subdivision rules are built around orderly growth and the adequate provision of streets, water and sewage disposal, which is exactly why projects like this draw close attention from nearby neighborhoods and county planners.

D.R. Horton already has a visible footprint in the Arden market, marketing homes in communities such as Reserve at Tap Root Farms, Tap Root Farms and Townes at Tap Root Farms. Those listings start from the $316s and reach the $470s, showing how the company has been pushing new construction into price ranges that can still look attainable compared with much of the existing Asheville-area market.

That is why this new Buncombe County subdivision matters. If the project moves from land acquisition into permits and grading, it could add another source of newly built homes in a county where inventory and affordability remain tight. But it would also add more cars, more demand on schools and more strain on water and sewer systems in the south Buncombe growth corridor, where neighborhood character is often defined by how quickly farms and wooded tracts give way to subdivisions.