Buying New Construction in Piperton, TN: A Guide

If you have driven east out of Collierville lately, you have probably noticed the change. Piperton, the small Fayette County city just across the line in zip code 38017, is seeing more new homes go up than at any point in its history. It still has open fields and long stretches of quiet road, but new neighborhoods are taking shape. If a new build in Piperton is on your mind, this guide covers what I would want a friend to know before signing anything with a builder.

Where the New Homes Are Going Up

Piperton was incorporated in 1974 and covers roughly 27 square miles in the southwest corner of Fayette County, bordering Collierville and Shelby County to the west and Mississippi to the south. Much of that land is still rural, so new construction tends to arrive in planned pockets rather than everywhere at once.

The best-known of these is Piperton Preserve at RusDun Farms, built on a former family farm whose history goes back to the 1800s. The community borders Poplar Avenue and Keough Drive, and its developer describes plans for roughly 240 homes when complete, with larger estate lots around the edges, smaller garden-style homes near a planned town square, and a wooded park linked by walking trails. The community website keeps a current builder list worth checking before you visit.

Next door on Keough Drive, a newer project called Prestonwood cleared a major step in February 2026, when the city approved rezoning for about 237 single-family lots across five phases. City records describe a mix of cottage, neighborhood, and estate lots, open space, a proposed dog park, and improvements to Keough Drive, with buildout expected to take several years. The developer is Blue Sky Communities, with Grant and Company involved, and new-home listing sites show it as coming soon. Because it is so early, lot releases, floor plans, and pricing are still worth confirming directly.

Outside those neighborhoods, many Piperton homes sit on larger rural parcels, and building a custom home on land is another path. That path usually means more homework on utilities and site preparation.

Taxes: County Plus City

Because Piperton is an incorporated city, homeowners inside city limits pay both Fayette County and City of Piperton property taxes. When I checked in late September 2026, the Fayette County Trustee's site listed a county rate of $0.9310 per $100 of assessed value, and the City of Piperton listed a city rate of $0.4176 per $100 of assessed value. Residential property in Tennessee is assessed at 25 percent of appraised value, so the math is appraised value times 0.25, times the combined rate, divided by 100.

Rates are set each year, so please confirm the current numbers with the county trustee and the city before you budget. It is also worth asking how a new home will be taxed in its first year, since a lot may be billed at land value before the finished house is appraised.

Utilities: Ask Early, Ask Specifically

This is the section I would spend the most time on. According to the City of Piperton, the city provides water to customers inside city limits, purchasing it from the Collierville water system, which draws from the Memphis Sand Aquifer.

Sewer is where Piperton differs from many suburbs. The city describes a decentralized system in which each home has a Septic Tank Effluent Pump, or STEP, unit that sends effluent into city lines. The city maintains lines up to the clean-out, and the homeowner is responsible for the service between the clean-out and the house. Sewer capacity has been a live topic at City Hall in 2026. In May, local meeting coverage reported that the board was studying treatment options to address capacity limits, and a sewer project for the Greenbrier neighborhood was in design in the spring. If you are buying a lot or building outside a platted neighborhood, ask whether the property connects to city sewer or needs a traditional septic system, and get that answer in writing.

For electricity, the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce lists Chickasaw Electric as serving Fayette County. Natural gas availability varies by location, so confirm electric, gas, trash, and internet providers for the exact address before you commit.

Getting Around: US-72, TN-385, and TN-196

Piperton's location is a big part of its appeal. US-72 runs through town and heads northwest toward Collierville, Germantown, and Memphis, which sits about 26 miles away along that route. State Route 196 begins at US-72 in Piperton and runs north through town, and State Route 57 passes through the center of the city toward Collierville. The Bill Morris Parkway (TN-385) and Interstate 269 meet near the Piperton and Collierville border, giving you a quicker loop toward Germantown, East Memphis, and other parts of Shelby County. I always suggest test-driving your likely commute at rush hour before choosing a lot.

On schools, the City of Piperton notes there are currently no public schools within city limits. The area is part of Fayette County Public Schools, and I recommend confirming school assignments for a specific address directly with the district.

The New-Construction Process

Buying new is different from buying a resale home. Builder contracts are usually written by the builder's attorney and often differ from the standard Tennessee forms, covering deposits, change orders, completion dates, and warranties. Read them carefully and consider having an attorney review them.

Even with a brand-new house, I encourage independent inspections, ideally at the pre-drywall stage and again before closing. A good inspector can catch framing, plumbing, or drainage issues while they are still easy to fix, and a walk before your one-year warranty ends is worth scheduling too.

Finally, the sales representative in a model home works for the builder. Having your own agent means someone is looking out for your interests on lot selection, upgrades, contract terms, and timelines. In many cases the builder pays the buyer's agent compensation, but that varies, so ask at the start. The key detail is that many builders require your agent to be with you, or registered, on your very first visit.

If you are weighing a new home in Piperton, Collierville, or elsewhere in Fayette or Shelby County, I would be glad to talk it through, visit communities with you, or help you sort out the utility and tax questions for a specific lot. There is never any pressure; just reach out whenever it is helpful.

Kelly Day, SRES, SRS, AHWD, PSA, RENE
Multi Million Dollar Club
Broker Lic # 365811
simpliHOM
901-289-9227
855-856-9466
[email protected]
https://memphishouselistings.com