Most HOAs aren’t created by neighbors, but by developers.
Basically, most developers doing greenfield development (most new housing built in the US) build a pretty large tract of land as a development. Constructing all the houses in the development takes years. The developer is selling a particular image of a neighborhood to their buyers, not just a house - the same house can get radically different prices if the neighborhood it is in has good curb appeal. So the developer makes an HOA. When you buy a house in the development early on, the HOA is making sure that you keep everything looking picture perfect so they developer can maximize home sale prices on the houses they are still building. Hence, arcane rules about what colors you can paint your house, what kind of grass you can have in your yard, etc. As well as the stipulation that an absurd majority of the HOA’s board must approve any changes to the rules (the developer controls some number of board seats while development is ongoing).
Most HOAs aren’t created by neighbors, but by developers.
Basically, most developers doing greenfield development (most new housing built in the US) build a pretty large tract of land as a development. Constructing all the houses in the development takes years. The developer is selling a particular image of a neighborhood to their buyers, not just a house - the same house can get radically different prices if the neighborhood it is in has good curb appeal. So the developer makes an HOA. When you buy a house in the development early on, the HOA is making sure that you keep everything looking picture perfect so they developer can maximize home sale prices on the houses they are still building. Hence, arcane rules about what colors you can paint your house, what kind of grass you can have in your yard, etc. As well as the stipulation that an absurd majority of the HOA’s board must approve any changes to the rules (the developer controls some number of board seats while development is ongoing).