There's a new batch of starter homes for sale in Dalton, and the builder is pitching them on price.
Century Complete, the entry-level brand of publicly traded Century Communities, says it's now selling single-family homes at Old Praters Mill. The community is at 156 Old Prater Mill Road NE. The company marked the opening with a grand opening event on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., where visitors could tour move-in-ready homes and talk with the sales team and learn about financing through the company's affiliate lender, Inspire Home Loans.
The company announced the opening in a release on its investor site. The release, also distributed on PR Newswire, says homes start "from the upper $200s."
The prices on the builder's own page
The company's Old Praters Mill community page shows lower numbers. As of Oct. 19, the page listed the community as "starting from $239,888."
The page lists three floor plans with base prices:
- The Auburn, a two-story plan with 1,566 square feet, three bedrooms and 2.5 baths, from $252,990.
- The Scottsdale, a one-story plan with 1,562 square feet, three bedrooms and two baths, from $259,990.
- The Berkshire, a two-story plan with 1,965 square feet, four bedrooms and 2.5 baths, from $267,990.
Every plan has a two-car garage.
The page also listed five finished or nearly finished homes on Bruin Circle, each with an estimated October completion. Two were Auburns, at $239,888 and $260,990. Two were Berkshires, at $270,990 and $275,990. One Scottsdale was listed with no price, marked "call for available homes."
Builder prices change often, and the release doesn't explain the difference. Anyone shopping or reporting on the community should go by the live listings, which on Oct. 19 ran from the low $200s into the mid-$270,000s.
What's in the box
Century Complete keeps its product simple, and the release spells out the standard finishes: quartz countertops, stainless-steel appliances, Kohler fixtures and luxury vinyl-plank flooring in every home. The homes have open-concept layouts. Several of the listings highlight features like upstairs laundry, walk-in pantries, a loft and a covered patio.
The company leans on online sales. Buyers can put down an earnest money deposit and sign a purchase contract electronically through DocuSign. In-person help comes through the company's Georgia West sales studio in Sandy Springs and the community's sales office.
"Century Complete is built around making new construction attainable, and Old Praters Mill is a clear example of that in Northwest Georgia," Regional President Cliff Niederpruem said in the release.
The company is selling the location as a commuter play, with easy access to I-75, Chattanooga and employers across Northwest Georgia and Southeast Tennessee. According to the release, the community is zoned for Varnell Elementary, North Whitfield Middle and Coahulla Creek High.
Neither the release nor the community page says how many homes Old Praters Mill will have in total. The release calls them "limited-opportunity homesites," and the page lists five homes on Bruin Circle as available.
Century Communities says it operates in 16 states and more than 45 markets. It also offers mortgage, title, insurance and escrow services in select markets through its own subsidiaries, so a buyer can handle much of the purchase without leaving the company.
Why it matters for Contractors
Old Praters Mill is a good look at how national builders are tackling price: small footprints, three plans, a short standard finish list and homes built ahead of buyers. Homes between about 1,560 and 1,965 square feet listed in the $200s leave little room for change orders or custom work. The builder controls cost by repeating the same plans and finishes over and over.
For trade contractors in Whitfield County and the Chattanooga area, that means repeat work on a tight schedule. Framers, roofers, drywall crews, flooring installers and painters who can hit the same plan on the same timeline, home after home, are what this model runs on. The flip side is that per-house margins on entry-level spec homes are thin. Subs should know their true costs before signing on to a production builder's price sheet.
The price gap between the release and the live listings is also a reminder for anyone in the business: read the builder's own page, not just the headline. In entry-level housing, a few thousand dollars on the sticker can decide whether a buyer qualifies.