Buying Land in Moore County, North Carolina

Countywide zoning -- and a genuinely active rewrite of its rural growth rules

Moore County maintains real countywide zoning for its unincorporated area, administered under a Unified Development Ordinance and enforced by the county's Planning & Inspections department, distinct from the separate zoning maintained by Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen, Vass, and the county's other incorporated towns. That base structure is a stable, well-established feature of the county's land-use framework.

What is not stable, as of this research pass, is the county's approach to growth management along its major highway corridors. Local reporting describes Moore County commissioners actively reviewing the county's Highway Corridor Overlay District -- a set of rules originally designed to preserve scenic gateways and the Sandhills' rural character along major roads -- with discussion of eliminating portions of the overlay system in favor of simpler 50-foot roadway buffers combined with the county's existing zoning regulations. Coverage describes planning staff being expected to return with updated ordinance language for further discussion, meaning this is a live, unresolved policy process rather than a settled rule. A buyer evaluating road-frontage land anywhere in unincorporated Moore County should ask Planning & Inspections directly what the current, in-force overlay or buffer requirement is for that specific road and parcel, rather than relying on any general description -- including this one -- that could be outdated by the time you're reading it.

A golf-resort economy built on the Sandhills' sandy soil

Moore County's land-use character is inseparable from Pinehurst's identity as a national golf-resort destination -- Pinehurst Resort's multiple championship courses (including Pinehurst No. 2, a past and future U.S. Open host) sit on the sandy, well-drained soil and longleaf pine ecosystem that define the broader Sandhills region. The county's own growth-management language explicitly frames the Sandhills and longleaf pine as assets of real economic value to its towns and a meaningful draw for both residents and visitors, which is part of why the highway corridor overlay and buffer debate matters here specifically: land-use policy in Moore County is genuinely trying to balance new residential growth against protecting the rural, scenic character that supports its resort-driven economy.

For a land buyer, that means Moore County's rural land market is shaped by real, ongoing demand tied to the golf and resort economy -- proximity to Pinehurst carries a genuine premium -- while land further from that core, particularly in the county's more agricultural and forested areas, can still offer the lower-cost, larger-acreage opportunities more typical of rural Sandhills land. Confirm with a local agent or the county's own land records which category a specific parcel falls into, since "Moore County land" can mean very different price points and buyer pools depending on proximity to Pinehurst.

Septic and well permitting in sandy Sandhills soil

Septic and well permitting for Moore County parcels runs through the Moore County Health Department's Environmental Health Section (1042 Carriage Oaks Drive, Carthage; 910-947-6283), which issues improvement permits for new systems and reviews existing systems for property transfers. The Sandhills' characteristically sandy, well-drained soil can actually be favorable for conventional septic system siting compared to the higher-water-table conditions found in parts of eastern North Carolina, but soil conditions still vary parcel to parcel -- confirm directly with Environmental Health rather than assuming favorable conditions from the region's general soil reputation.

Southern Pines: genuine, nationally known horse country

Moore County's equestrian identity is real and well-documented, not just an extension of Pinehurst's golf-resort marketing. The Walthour-Moss Foundation, occupying more than 4,000 acres roughly a mile from Southern Pines, was established specifically to preserve open Sandhills land for equestrian use -- and 80 adjoining neighbors have each deeded the Foundation a permanent trail-access easement along their own property line, easements that run with the land regardless of ownership. A separate conservation easement, made jointly with the U.S. Forest Service, protects 3,946 acres of longleaf pine forest in southern Moore County specifically for continued equestrian use. The area also carries a National Register-recognized historic district, Moore County Hunt Lands and Mile-Away Farms, reflecting a fox-hunting and horse-farm tradition that predates most of the county's modern development.

For a buyer specifically interested in equestrian land, that combination of infrastructure and history supports a genuine, currently active market -- see our dedicated horse-property page for this county for market data and what to check before buying near the Foundation's trail network.