down the chain vs. at root level make any difference?

I have what I think is a quick question. If I have:

[COLOR=”Blue”]homeBuilderWebsite.com/[/COLOR] – website about the builder itself the links to the sites below

[COLOR=”Blue”]homeBuilderWebsite.com/elite_Condos/[/COLOR] – separate website for condo dev#1
[COLOR=”Blue”]homeBuilderWebsite.com/radical_homes/[/COLOR] – separate website for condo dev#2
[COLOR=”Blue”]homeBuilderWebsite.com/nifty_residences/[/COLOR] – separate website for condo dev#3

will I get worse search engine hits then if each of the 3 condo developments had their own domain name [I](not including the extra points for words within the domain name itself)[/I]? [B]So for example, if I buy:[/B]

[COLOR=”Blue”]homeBuilderProject1.com[/COLOR] [I](something without the name of the condo in it, just for example – I know that would be dumb to do)[/I] and move the content from [COLOR=”Blue”]homeBuilderWebsite.com/elite_Condos/[/COLOR] to it, would it get better results then the 2 projects left behind? [B]Does content get penalized for being deeper into a domain vs. at the root level?[/B]

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