I see this sentiment a lot, but it doesn't match what I've seen. One of my friends recently bought a relatively expensive house in South Texas and then a bit la

I see this sentiment a lot, but it doesn't match what I've seen. One of my friends recently bought a relatively expensive house in South Texas and then a bit later plans arose to build an apartment complex nearby (maybe a few hundred units - I forget the details). He rallied his neighbors to talk to their city council and the project was cancelled. I talked to him about it a bit and mentioned that it was almost textbook NIMBYism and he agreed. The thing is that at no point was home value ever part of his thinking - he bought this house at a bit of a premium to live in the neighborhood that had larger lots, relatively older, professional families, and quiet nights (his old house was near a college campus and had lots of renters who liked to party it up on all nights of the week). He just wanted to keep his quiet, low-traffic neighborhood. He'd be happy if his house never increased in value since he plans on living there indefinitely and all an increase in price means to him is more in wealth/property taxes. He is not the only one I've talked to who thinks this way.