Booming town of Silverwood where homes are $400K and buyers have to sign ‘kindness’ waiver
Hesperia’s 'kindness pledge' community sells 225 homes in year 1
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118+ best Amazon Prime Day deals, hand-picked and updated live for 2026 Real EstateBooming town of Silverwood where homes are $400K and buyers have to sign ‘kindness’ waiver
By Zain Khan Published June 22, 2026, 11:25 a.m. ETSee more of our coverage in your search results.
Add The California Post on GoogleA quirky California community where homeowners are asked to pledge kindness to their neighbors is rapidly growing, with hundreds of families already buying into the unusual experiment.
Silverwood, a sprawling master-planned development in the Inland Empire city of Hesperia, has sold 225 homes since opening its first neighborhoods last year, according to developer officials.
The 9,000-acre project first grabbed headlines for its affordable prices — starting in the low $400,000s — and for requiring residents to sign a “kindness pledge” aimed at fostering empathy, acceptance and neighborliness.
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Now, developers say demand has remained strong despite high mortgage rates and broader economic uncertainty.
“The first year was a success,” Silverwood general manager John Ohanian told Business Insider. “We had strong community engagement, experienced strong buyer interest, and made our place despite no softening in the mortgage market and general economic ups and downs.”
The development sold more than 40 homes within weeks of its opening in April 2025, and sales have steadily climbed over the past year as buyers search for more affordable alternatives to Southern California’s notoriously expensive housing markets.
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Developers estimate roughly 300 families will be living in Silverwood by the end of 2026. The long-term vision is far larger: More than 15,000 homes spread across neighborhoods connected by parks, trails and community gathering spaces.
The community sits near Silverwood Lake and is framed by mountain views, with outdoor recreation forming a major part of its identity.
“This property is surrounded by the mountains. You can see Big Bear on one side and a lovely panorama of mountains on the other,” Ohanian told Business Insider. “It wants to be an outdoor lifestyle kind of community.”
The kindness pledge remains one of Silverwood’s defining features.
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Inspired by a campaign launched years ago by former Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait, the document asks residents, employees and contractors to embrace values including compassion, respect and community engagement.
“I can’t tell you the number of times residents have stopped me and said how much they appreciate the idea and the way it is being lived out,” Ohanian said. “If this is our legacy at Silverwood, I will be so proud.”
The emphasis on community appears to be resonating with buyers who might otherwise have left California altogether.
Houses in Silverwood currently range from the $400,000s to nearly $800,000 — a price point Ohanian believes fills a gap in the state’s housing market.
“There hasn’t really been an opportunity for people like this,” he said. “Californians feel like they can go to Texas and pay $400,000 for a house or go to Orange County and pay $1 million.”
Silverwood ultimately plans to add between 500 and 700 households each year as it grows into what developers hope will become a modern version of the small-town California communities many residents say they miss.
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Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
